Florida's Silence After Tragedy kicks this split off with four tracks of terrible metalcore that hits on just about every device of the genre that I hate. They basically can't decide if they want to be a blackened death metal band or a metalcore band, so it's nothing but a boring mess of frantic tremolo picking galore with overly groovy breakdown mosh parts, sloppily dissonant dual guitar work, and obnoxious vocals that shift from snarling screams to growls. And don't forget the dramatic spoken passages, complete with atmospheric effects and all, you've gotta love those (sarcasm). I do like their drummer, I'll say that, but he would be way better served in some hardass NYHC styled band or something, because the snap that he's got going with his flow works really well, it's just a shame that there's very little rhythmic feeling for him to work with in these tracks. Oh, and did I mention that the recording blows, too? I'm not making out any real bass parts at all, and the vocals are so fucking loud that it makes me sick. The mix is basically 60% vocals, 20% drums, 15% guitars, and maybe 5% bass. It's too raw, it's too unbalanced, and it's quite hard to sit through. And what about lyrical phrases like "your lifeless lips I will caress" or "the black roses of your thoughts have come alive and they've turned blood red"? Fuck no, man. This is one of the worst bands I've heard in years, and I can't believe anyone agreed to properly release these four tracks. Sadly, Italy's The Phoenix fares only marginally better with their blend of melodic metalcore and heavy emo influences. They, too, follow too many staples of an already generic style: "Ironic" song titles that have nothing to do with the lyrics, chaotic songwriting arrangements with lots of changes, vocals that jump from harsh screams to singing or speaking, everything from melodic Swedish death metal riffs to clean passages to chaotic discordance, etc. In their defense, unlike Silence After Tragedy they at least drop a couple of really cool riffs, but the songwriting is still really boring and the recording's not very good either. They've got a fairly balanced mix, but the drums are pretty uneven and flimsy, the guitar tone lacks crunch, and there's a distant feel to the overall sound quality. There are also some performance issues here, so they need to tighten up their playing in addition to everything else. Lyrically their tracks also suffer from silly personal turmoil and random expressions like, "Your hair, so electric." I can't really go anywhere with that crap. The layout? Ehhh, the cover looks okay and it's consistent as a whole, but it's also pretty bland. Each band has an area for lyrics and contact information and all that, so it's the usual. But in the end this is simply not a good CD at all. Were they to tighten up their performances and push for a hint more creativity The Phoenix could actually be a promising little act, as a couple of their riffs definitely caught my attention. But Silence After Tragedy is a hopeless case, and honestly both bands are too underdeveloped to have seen this split receive a release at all.
[Still Life]
Running time - 34:03, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: none of 'em are worth singling out]
Still Life Records - http://www.stillliferecords.com
