Chelsea Grin

Named after the infamous scar of the same name, Chelsea Grin is an American deathcore band formed in 2007. However, none of the original band members of Chelsea Grin are still in the band. Chelsea Grin has released 7 albums as a band ( 5 albums with 2 ep’s) and the latest album they have released is titled “Eternal Nightmare”. This band has become one of the most known deathcore bands in America and have some of the most dynamic albums I have ever heard from a deathcore band.

Meet the band:

David Flinn (Bass)
Stephen Rutishauser (Guitarist)
Pablo Viveros Seguirá (Drums/Vocals)
Tom Barber (Vocals)

My favorite album from Chelsea Grin would have to be their 3rd album released in 2014 titled “Ashes to Ashes”. All of these song found a way into my playlists but two of these songs have really been able to stand out among the rest: “Playing with fire” and “Angels shall sin, Demons shall pray”. Two incredible songs that really help bring this album into the spotlight with the intense sound and hardcore riffs.

” We will Light ourselves a flame

Light ourselves a flame as we kiss the sky”

“Playing with fire” is the first song that will play when you click on this album and by no means is this an accident. During the first 30 seconds of the song your ears are treated to a hardcore vocals session and some wickedly intense guitar and drum beats that make you want to listen in and see what will happen. Not only do the lyricals draw you in but also the drums will make your head shake and bang with anticipation. While the lyricals them selves are short and to the point, Chelsea Grin is able to put their unique vocals and pure rage/aggression really bring this song together. Further showing us their potential and what they are truly capable of. Here is a link to a Youtube video of the song:

“Angels shall sin, Demons shall pray” sounds exactly like the song does. From the name alone this song gives off an impression of what the world is like sometimes. Good people sin just as much as everyone else and even people who maybe evil can find themselves in a place where they have been wronged and needed to pray. The vocals are super unique in the fact that they are scratchy and raw with the sound because this is a topic that you don’t want any really dark or hard to understand sounds. This should feel raw and hardcore so the audience knows that this is a different kind of song, one to listen to. The vocals are by far my favorite part of this song. The instrumentals are good to with the riffs and the unusually percussion used like the hints of hi-hat as well has as the intense banging on the base drums.

“I don’t want to be you

I don’t want to see you

You say your close to god

I’d really like to meet him”

These lyrics are definitely some that everyone can at least picture in their mind, someone saying that they are close to god but then go and show you that they are not truly with god. They commit evil acts but act good, wolf in sheep’s clothing. That Feeling of asking for proof that they are “close to god” is a major red flag in any relationship (platonic or not) because if they have done you wrong, your basically asking what’s the deal and are you who you say you are. Sad to say that I have been in situations like this and I am sure many people can relate to this.

Chelsea Grin has been a band that is not a friend to make their own sound and talk about their messages. Not caring about trends and staying true to who they are as a band, keeping to their roots even if they are not the original members. The members have been able to preserve the sound and keep the aggressive sounding like the very first album. A very hard thing for bands to do but it is one thing that Chelsea Grin can do no problem. Here are some other albums I recommend:

Eternal Nightmare

Self Inflicted

SCAR LXRD

From the very beginning I knew listening to Scar Lxrd (Scar Lord) would be a different type of music experience just by his name. Labeled as trap metal, Scar Lxrd has incorporated the use of rap beats and metal vocals to develop this new sound that has grown a huge following. Using a simple face mask gives me that feeling of Slipknot or Mushroom Head, but even more so Hollywood Undead because Scar Lxrd is very similar to Hollywood Undead. Both are artists in a rock/metal/rap band and both wear masks. Born in the UK, Marius Lucas Antonio Listhrop (Scar Lxrd) first started his career as the vocalist in a Nu Metal band called Myth City. When Scar Lxrd decided to go solo he gained great success off his first hit single “HEART ATTACK” which currently has 76 million views on Youtube. So much fame in so little time is incredible for this new kind of music which may be the future of hardcore and may lead to even more forms of metal.

After listening to the single “HEART ATTACK” I have a few different thoughts on the single. Now the beginning of the song I really don’t care for because the woman just yelling at someone is super unnecessary. It also shouldn’t have taken as long as it did to get to the actual music part of the song. The final sound you hear before the lyrics begin is a dude yelling and it leads perfectly into the first bass drop. The beat is awesome and I caught my self head banging especially after that first bass drop in the beginning. Scar Lxrd uses some more metal style vocals with slight screams hear and there but at around the 2 minute mark is when it really goes metal and I truly wasn’t expecting it. The last couple of minutes are truly my favorite part of this whole song not only for the lyrics but also for the incredible instruments and vocals.

“I see hell inside your face

That s*** fills me up with rage (Die)

Passing points we shouldn’t break”

These lyrics really just spoke to me if that makes sense like we all have those feelings of anger and sometimes those are reflected onto people. More specifically, when you see that person that only fills you with rage and ferocity, the longer the feeling rages on our breaking point gets closer and closer until we finally reach it. We have all been there and we have all danced that dance with the devil but hearing those lyrics in this style of metal just really stood out to me and made me remember them. Here is a link to the Youtube video of the song:

Another single released by Scar Lxrd that I like is the song “I WANT TX SEE YXU BLEED.” The beat is really good and it is addicting in the sense that you want to keep headbaning to this song and how the beat get stuck in your head. The whole song just has such great beats and instrumentals that kept me on my toes while listening. Straight of the gate the lyrics and vocals are heavy for any rap song and he is able to throw in a bit of a growl on the word bleed.

” I’ve exceeded expectations and I’m 24, yeah

I don’t need no patience,

I just get up and get it all”

These are my favorite lyrics in the whole song because they are true and they come in at a point in the song where it just feels right to have them there. Scar Lxrd has definitely exceeded all expectations that people had of him. Like many other famous musicians such as X or Juice Wrld, Scar Lxrd it so young and his fame has just soared above beyond what anyone could have first imaged. The mid song mental breakdown made me laugh a bit just because yeah this song sounds like a mental breakdown but he flat out stops the song and says it. In my opinion just a funny little segment of a good song. Here is a link to the video:

Overall, I actually like Scar Lxrd and his style of music. I think that he may fall into the trap of just rapping about girls or drugs just to get people to listen to his music and not care about the meaning behind the songs. I hope this doesn’t happen though and that he only continues to get better as time goes on. Scarlxrd is a different kind of musician, he incorporates different styles of music to not only show what he as an artist can do but also what music can be. I hope this new generation continues to innovate and test out music styles to find out what is truly possible for the future of music. Here are links to song other singles of Scar Lxrds that I recommend:

Cattle Decapitation

Death Atlas

In 1996 David Astor, Gabe Serbian, Scott Miller, and Travis Ryan came together in San Diego, California to form an addictive Metalcore band called Cattle Decapitation (also known as Cattle Decap). Unfortunately the only original member still playing in the band is Travis Ryan. But the original dose of aggression prescribed to us by Cattle Decapitation has been increased but the medication has come with intense side effects of headbanging and lashing guitar riffs. We can say thank you to the newer members of Cattle Decap for not only preserving the original aggression but also giving us a higher quality and intense dose of adrenaline. The newest members include: Josh Elmore (2001-present), David Macgraw (2007-present), Belisario Dimuzio (2018-present), and Olivier Pinard (2018-present).

Meet the band:

Travis Ryan (vocals, keyboards, drums, electronics, e-bow)
Josh Elmore (guitar)
David Mcgraw (drums)
Belisario Dimuzio (guitar)
Olivier Pinard (bass)

Cattle Decaps’ 2019 release of the album Death Atlas is by far one of the best albums they have released and it has received higher ratings than some of their other albums on ratemymusic.com. This album deserves all the praise it gets because the riffs and drum solos alone deserve amazing rates, then you throw in the almost evil villain esk vocals and the lyrics and what do you have? You have a band who became immortal like the greek titan Atlas who holds up the sky. Atlus is depicted as a skeleton in space holding the world on the album cover. Below is a link to the full album on Youtube:

From the cover to the actual songs this album is 100% representative of a possible future of the world. Songs like “Bring Back the Plague” and “One day closer to the end of the world” provide a good mental image of possible futures of Earth. Kinda scary and definitely gets the message across to listeners. “Bring Back The Plague” is my personal favorite of the two. From the very beginning of the song to about 1:10 minutes in the guitar and drums are just sick to the max. However, the lyrics are what really set this song apart from “One Day Closer to the End of the World”. The lyrics of “Bring Back The Plague” begin with the worlds Yersinia Pestis, which is a Bacteria that is passed by rats and rodents. This Bacteria is the reason for the Black Plague, which is a pretty dark way to start off a song but it catches your attention. As the song develops you keep hearing these references and Ryan flat out saying the Black Plague. Thus further showing how serious these guys are about the possibility of another plague and how we as a society of Earth were affected by this catastrophe. Some specific lyrics that catch your ears are:

“The wrath of God bleeds from their eyes

And like the raven, this contagion keeps repeating, ever eating

Humanity to nevermore”

Musixmatch

The mere fact that Cattle Decap put that the wrath of God bleed from their eyes into a song is just gruesome and intense. I love it! These lyrics are awesome also because not only due they reference the famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven) but it uses the famous words nevermore to really ring out and make your mind think. By far my favorite lyrics in the whole album. The song ends with the chorus and wow that is a way to end a song because Cattle Decap really made it clear what the message is of this song:

“The universe always finds a way to purge”

-Travis Ryan

A really good album overall and lots of good things but I do have a few suggestions for improvements. There is a song called the “The Great Dying, pt1” and it’s alright but I really didn’t feel like it needed a part two. Like just combine both “The Great Dying, pt1” and “The Great Dying, pt2” into one amazing song instead of making them into filler songs for the album. I hate filler songs on albums ams I feel like Cattle Decap could have done without having two songs and just combined it into one great piece.

Overall I love this album and I would highly recommend this album as more of an intro into the Cattle Decap fan farm and to show that person what this band is capable of. Death Atlas is about how the universe will continue with or without humanity and that we are such a small part of the universe. We can be here today and gone tomorrow, with this current outbreak of Covid-19 I have definitely listened to this album with a different mind set. That we are not immortal and that we won’t be here forever. In the words of Ryan, “I want people to be shocked into thinking more about their futures, their loved ones, the pain they’re potentially subjecting their future generations to. Everyone just seems to live in the now with no care for tomorrow and that’s incorrect thinking as far as today goes. Don’t make tomorrow a cancelled check.”

Here are some other albums by Cattle Decapitation:

Monolith of Inhumanity
The Harvest Floor

Anaal Nathrakh

A New Kind of Horror

In 1999 Dave Hunt and Mick Kenny formed Anaal Nathrakh (serpent’s breath) in Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom. Hunt and Kenny took the name Anaal Nathrakh from the movie Excalibur. Anaal Nathrakh is an Industrial Black Metal/Grindcore band now but back in 1999 they came on to the music stage as a Black Metal band.

Meet the band:

Dave Hunt (Vocals)
Mitch Kenny (Guitar, drum programing, drums, bass)

A New Kind of Horor is Anaal Nathrakh‘s 10th studio album which was released in 2018 and was distributed by Metal Blade Records. The album cover alone shows the audience that Hunt and Kenny were not messing around with this album. The skull with the war helmet on emerging from the green mist just gives you a sense of eagerness for war, devastation, and annihilation. Their industrial instrumental and staticy screams make this album go super saiyan by showing in a few different songs how diverse this band can be.

Here is a link to the full album on Youtube:

After listening to the album multiple times I can say for 100% that the best songs off the album are “Forward!” and “Obscene as cancer”. “Forward!” starts off so creepily distorted that you can’t help questioning the sanity of the band, but then the little chimes get louder and evolve into this aggressive wartime anthem of metal music. Actual gun sounds like when a slide is cocked back and the firing of a gun was heavily used in the place of drums in this song and it works perfectly. The amazing guitar keep this mid-paced metal song under control and really highlights the amount of detail Anaal Nathrakh put into the piece. I appreciate how the band takes time in the song to slow it down and quiet the instruments just before the main chorus of the song. Then kinda like a bass drop without the bass drop the main chorus opens fire on the audience with the lyrics:

“Forward!

Forget your fear, the guns at your back scream

Forward!

Who gives a fuck if your enemy’s starving

Forward!

No place for cowards, up and over

Forward!

Your country needs you, so start killing”

(Metalkingdom.net)

That repeat of the word forward and the sound of guns being unleashed makes you want to get ready to fight, to kill, and to die in battle. I listen to this song when I workout because of the adrenaline this song sends through my veins and makes me want to push myself to the limit for what I want. The vocals only emphasize the lyrics because they are being screamed at you like a general or a military leader would scream at his soldiers. That sense of patriotism and the willingness to fight for a cause even if you will die is just outstanding to me because music should make you feel things like that. Not specifically bloodlust or anger but a feeling that makes you want to improve and make a change or release emotions. “Forward!” is by far the best song on this album and it is probably the most perfect songs I have listened to in a long time.

Here is a link to the song:

“Obsence of cancer” sounded very familiar to me when the main chorus dropped and I realized it reminded me of the metal king Ozzy Osbourne. If you like Ozzy you will love the main chorus of this song. The perfect combination of a tiny bit of classic metal with the thrash and aggression of a newer generation. If you are new to Anaal Nathrakh then you should liken to “Obsence of cancer” just so you can get a very small amount of there musical venom. The main chorus goes:

“In all my dreams

Before my helpless sight

He plunges at me

Guttering, choking, drowning”

(Metalkingdom.net)

The only real issues I have are with the intro song (“The road to…”) because I really didn’t enjoy the intro. I get it is supposed to be this slow progression to this inevitable war when “Obsence of cancer” comes on, but I really didn’t find it appealing. I believe Anaal Nathrakh could have made the intro song more impactful (even if the song was shorter) and more intense showing that the battle is here and the battle is happening.

Anaal Nathrakh, armed with addictive venom like a serpent, will bite you with its fangs and inject this intense strain of metal sound into your mind. Let the addictiveness of the band flow through your veins as the bullets become drums, and the screams become melodies of war. Anaal Nathrakh is by far one of the best Industrial bands I have heard. Each song like a call to war commanding devastation and obliteration. will you answer the call?

Here are some of the other albums by Anaal Nathrakh:

The Codex Necro
Eschaton
Hell is Empty and all the Devils are Here

Saving Vice

Hello There

Based out of New England, Saving Vice is a new independent Metalcore band formed in 2017. Band members include: Tyler Small (vocals), Robbie Litchfield (Guitar), Kenjamin Smiertelny (bass), Chase Papariello (vocals), and Sammy Whelton (drums). Not much is known about Saving Vice but what is clear is that their sound is unrivaled and unchallenged. This new generation of metal manages to take aspects from bands that came before like Suicide Silence, and combined that sound with bands like Ice Nine Kills to make these incredible songs. Saving Vice has released one full album titled Hello There. A song on the album that really makes me think of Suicide Silence and Ice Nine Kills is the song “Nerve Damage”. That song really brings out the sound of other bands that have inspired the sound of Saving Vice. The full album is linked below and I suggest looking at “Never Knows Best” and “Endgame”.

Now why listen to “Never Knows Best” or “Endgame”? I picked these two songs out of the rest because they both offer the listener a general overview of what Saving Vice is capable of. Both of these songs offer both the intense metal you are expecting from a metalcore band, but also giving you just a taste of how they take the genre and spin it. The band is able to use a unique style of screaming for the main vocals (preformed by lead vocalist Tyler Small), and then incorporate a more rock or punk style of chorus vocals. The main chorus of “Never Knows Best” is the best chorus out of these two songs:

“The days I spent dreaming

Daydreaming believing

Give me just a moment of your time

Let me follow the contours of your spine

denial”

This song is awesome! I love every single word and beat of this song. The intro just goes hard with the drums and the light guitar strumming really sounds spooky and mysterious. The whisper of the first verses is such a good hook because it draws new listeners in. Small really does a fantastic job at showing his range of screaming in the verses just before the main chorus. That is something I have found that many artists don’t have. Then Small comes back with an extremely “loud” chorus and one that really sticks in your head. Now I say “loud” meaning that the lyrics are “loud”. That not only are they powerful words, but they also give a great mental picture of why this song was written. The lyrics just ringing in your head and the instrumentals along with them just bounce off the walls of your head and keep replaying. This song was stuck in my head for weeks because Saving Vice did such a good job with editing and performing this song. Not only that but the strong music video helps convey the message of help and the messages of denying what is truly there. Right in front of your face.

Now this is an amazing first album from such a young and new band but along with that you can tell the inexperience of the band. They are all just so young that it is noticeable that they have not figured everything out yet. What I mean is that the band uses too much screaming or too much regular vocals at some points. There is a good balance of both within songs and this is an area I feel the band can improve greatly in.

Saving Vice has done great with using very unconventional words like the ones in the chorus of “Never Knows Best”, and that’s something that the band does very well. Using different words and words that most bands wouldn’t use to describe something has really set them apart from the rest. I am so excited to continue to listen to this band and am ready to see what Saving Vice will become and evolve into over the course of time.

Meet the band:

Tyler Small (left)(vocals) and Chase Papariello (right)(vocals)
Robbie Litchfield (Guitar)
Kenjamin Smiertelny (bass)
Sammy Whelton (Drums)

Link to the Saving Vice official webpage!

Upon A Burning Body

Straight from the Barrio

San Antonio, Texas born and raised, in 2005 was when this band was made. Upon A Burning Body was formed in 2005 and have been very heavily inspired by the Texan/Hispanic cultures present in the San Antonio area. Many songs written by Upon A Burning Body have lyrics that are in Spanish, which at first glance may seem odd. Danny Leal (lead vocalist) is able to incorporate the spanish so well in these songs that you can really tell it fits with the songs perfectly. The 5th album from the band Straight from the Barrio “barrio means neighborhood” in Spanish, and is my favorite album released by the group. The perfect mix of Texan aggression and Hispanic heritage combined into an album.

So many songs on this album incorporate Spanish in the main lyrics but the song were it really shows is ” ‘Til The Break of Dawn”. The first song you hear when you play the album, you will notice the acoustic guitar being used as well as an electric guitar. This added acoustic helps bring forth the traditional Hispanic sound which only makes you want to jam out and head bang harder than before. The main chorus incorporates english and spanish perfectly by using the translated lyrics in the chorus along with the Spanish lyrics.

” Vamos a pistear, toda la noche

We like to party all night long

Estamos despiertos hasta que el sol sale

We’re rolling ’til the break of dawn, baby”

Upon A Burning Body really knows how to incorporate a new language to many people and use it to draw in new lisinters. That is one reason why I continue to listen to the band and what also drew me into this album in the first place. Other amazing songs off of this album that I recommend are: “Already Broken”, “Media Blackout”, and “Distorted Reflection”.

My favorite song off this album is titled “B.M.F.” which is heavily inspired by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The music video alone is enough evidence to see the influence of The Fresh Prince and the legacy the show has made. Leal actually has The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air logo tattooed on his left inner bicep. The first 15 seconds of the song start off with an alarm clock blaring and straight into a hard drum beating with heavy bass strumming. It is an intro that really sets itself apart from the other songs on the album, it makes you want to pay attention and wait for what is to come next. The unique vocals from Leal really set him apart as well from the conventional vocalist. When the chorus kicks in the instrumentals are turned down and you can really hear the lyrics, which makes this song sound even greater.

“Y’all wanna tear this place up

give me a Hell yeah!

Y’all wanna burn this place down

let me hear Hell yeah!”

That chorus just makes you want to start in on the riot and chant along with the band. I know started chanting along with once or twice and it is some serious fun. The guitar throughout the entire song is so light compared to other bands, but that is what makes this song so great and different. Definitely one of the best instrumental moments in the whole album.

I enjoyed the album overall and I would give it a solid 4 out of 5 to rate how good it is, but I did find some issues with the album. For example in the first 10 seconds of ” ‘Til the Break of Dawn”, they begin saying some Spanish words and they are translated to say basically if you live in Texas get ready to party. Meaning that the song is going to be “good” which is true, however I feel that it was very unnecessary to add that line. Also, on a few of the songs when Leal is done singing, majority of the time the song just stops with 10 seconds of silence. I really hate that because there is potential to end the song with an amazing conclusion but it just left the ending hanging.

Straight from the Barrio is truly a different take with incorporating both Spanish and English lyrics, as well as bringing out their home of Texas in all of there songs. The band does an amazing job of making all of their songs feel like yeah this band is definitely from Texas. I highly recommend this album for all fans of deathcore. Below are pictures of more Upon A Burning Body albums that I recommend as well.

The World Is My Enemy Now Southern Hospitality

Car Bomb

Mordial

If you want some hardcore metal that is different from what you have normally heard, well Car Bomb is the band for you. Car Bomb was formed in 2002 and they currently have 5 albums out. The genre of Car Bomb is labeled on rateyourmusic.com as Mathcore, which means that this is a band that uses unconventional time signatures and weird/odd melodies. I was really not expecting this type of sound from this band. From album covers alone you would say Car Bomb is an alternative band but nope, you’d be wrong. There lasted album released in 2019 titled Mordial. Here is a link to the playlist on Youtube where you can listen to the entire album.

I truly wasn’t expecting the sound that came through my headphones. The first song titled Start opens with a spooky organ-ish sound that just makes ur skin crawl and its great. The next song on the album titled Fade Out is where the deathcore comes out in the band and reminds me of another band named Gojira. If you really like Gojira then listen to Fade out by Car Bomb. Lead vocalist of Car Bomb (Michael Dafferner) brings the heavy vocals out in songs such as Vague Skies, Mordinal, and Blackened Battery. Those three songs in particular are my absolute favorite songs off of this album.

Vague Skies is definitely my favorite song on this entire album because it reminds me of so many of my favorite bands. Some parts like the ending of the song for example remind me of the band Hell Yeah where as the middle of the song reminds me of Gojira. It’s incredible that this one band can sounds so similar and bring me to think of other great bands like Hell Yeah. Not only that but the lyrical word choice really makes the song even more meaningful and intimate for the listener.

“Bury all the desperate

Dig it up, dig it up, dig it up

Pointing out the contradiction, juxtapose

Search in yourself for the last time

I’m with you under vague skies”

Just reading that small portion of the lyrics you can tell that the band spent a long time deciding what lyrics they wanted in each song. This specific portion of the song just spoke to me and that is what music should do, it should speak to the listener and make them feel something. Car Bomb has succeeded in the effort to make me want to listen and have their albums on repeat.

The problems I have with this album in my opinion are substantial. The transitions through most of the songs I just hated. I really enjoyed the music I did, but some other transitions between verses and the bridge of songs just really didn’t work for me. It to me seemed mis leading to the next line and I noticed it on more then one song. Another issue I had was I get that it isn’t traditional deathcore and I knew that going into it before listening to the album. But after listing to it over and over again for this review I have noticed that songs like Scattered Sprites just its missing that strong lyrical presence and rhythm in the music. This song in particular really flopped on that note because the rhythm and lyrics in the song just are not that impressive or entertaining. Scattered Sprites is the worst song off the entire Mordial album.

Overall on a scale of one to five I would give this album as a whole a three because it was a good album but the flaws in this album are extremely clear and can’t go unnoticed. I recommend Car Bomb if you are looking for something unconventional and different from the mainstream. Check out songs like Dissect Yourself and Antipatterns as well, just to get a taste of this band. I hope this band continues to improve and make this against the grain form of deathcore.

Thy Art Is Murder

Human Target

“This isn’t culture this is mind control”

A tone down version of the band Lorna Shore, Thy Art Is Murder (Thy Art for short), is a deathcore band from Australia. Thy Art Is Murder was formed in 2006. A personal favorite of mine this band not only incorporates a great amount of heavy drums and instrumentals, but also the perfect amount of a quality growl thanks to lead vocalist Chris “CJ” Mcmahon. Human Target is the band’s 6th and newest album releasing in 2019. Human Target comes with songs such as Make America Hate Again, New Gods, and Human Target which are my three favorite songs on the entire album. Here is a link to the entire album on Youtube if you would like to listen to it.

Now this album has hit all of my criteria in order to be considered a great album for example, the instrumentals in all of the songs are just absolutely insane in the best way possible. Meaningful lyrics that provide a clear message on some scale or another that people can understand must be present in the song. Some of the songs on the album like New Gods and Chemical Christ are great examples of songs that sound different but are great songs with quality growl vocals. I really wasn’t expecting the amazing sound that came out of my earbuds when these two songs came on. New Gods starts with an amazing growl of the opening lyrics from Mcmahon:

“New Gods
Arise
Your followers are weaponized
New Gods
Arise
Your future is genocide”

Now that is how you grab someone’s attention. This opening is one of the best openings to a deathcore song I have heard in a while. It truly makes you want to listen to the message of how nowadays technology is worshiped as this god like entity and how people will blindly follow what the tech says without thinking. I truly recommend listening to Chemical Christ if you are interested in this album and want a song to start off with. It is a great song to ease your way into the album if you don’t want to start as heavy as New Gods.

This is a really good album and one of the most played albums on my Spotify account however, it is not a perfect album by any means. Songs like Death Squad Anthem and Eye For An Eye are popular songs, but both of the songs are lacking in the thrill of great instrumentals overall. Another thing that these songs have in my opinion is overall instrumentals that let you down. What I mean is, when the chorus comes in the lyrics just don’t keep your attention compared to songs like New Gods or Human Target. The majority of the opener for Eye for an Eye sounds too similar to a band called Behemoth and I didn’t really enjoy the opening because of that reason.

Overall, this album is a good representation of the bands quality and performance over the course of the past 14 years. I really enjoyed the album and even with two songs I really didn’t like, it was a great album with amazing instrumentals and real quality vocals to go along with them. I highly recommend this album if you are new to Thy Art or the genre in general, below are some other of Thy Art Is Murder albums I recommend you check out. I am very excited to see what will come from Thy Art Is Murder in the near future as they begin their 2020 tour with Carnifix, I Am, and Fit For An Autopsy.

Angelmaker

Dissentient

“As I’m sifting through the pieces of the rubble

I have always known forgiveness

I have always had a heart

But you pushed me into dark

Now watch it all fall apart”

– Casey Tyson-Pearce/Mike Greenwood (Vocalists for Angelmaker)

Since 2011 Angelmaker has been pushing the through the ranks in the deathcore scene with six albums published by AngelMaker Records. In 2015 Angelmaker released their sixth album called Dissentient. This album was the first one I listened to when I discovered the band on a top ten heaviest bands list. After listing to this glorious album hundreds of times I have my own thoughts about what Angelmaker has done within this album. Overall I really enjoyed the album probably a eight out of ten if I had to give it a rating. I thought that the first song titled Godless was a good choice as an intro song. Literally in the first ten seconds Casey and Mike (the lead vocalists) come out with this deep and raspy growl (chocolate milk singing as my dad likes to call it) that can make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up, now that is how you make an entrance. At one minute and forty seconds in the song the tone changes into a rich, deep, and instrumentally quiet verse, while still having great instrumentals. Angelmaker turns the instrumentals down a bit and it is less of a heavy and fierce moment in the song. I believe Angelmer wanted us to know that this verse was an important one and one that they wanted fans of their music to hear. The last ten seconds of Godless you can feel the drums vibrating through your veins as the double bass drum and snares really pulsate through to the end and help lead it to the conclusion. Many more great songs like No Haven, Into Oblivion, and A Dark Omen are also apart of this album and you should definitely go check them out. If you do enjoy Godless you should listen to the entire album and really get a feel for the talent that this group has and potential we will hopefully get to see one day in the future.

After listening to the album multiple times and looking at the specific lyrics of each song, I have to say that the best songs of the Dissentient album are Leech and Citadel. From the very first few seconds you know straight away that Leech is going to be an amazing song. It opens with the band yelling about how their enemy is a coward and how they sucked the life out of the band members. The song sounds very original in its composition and the use of a wide range of octaves and growls really makes this a solid song that just makes you wanna headbang a bit. It is no surprise that this is the song Angelmaker chose to use with their official lyrical video. That’s right, only a lyrical video. The song truly speaks for itself and tells us what is going on throughout the song as the lyrics progress. The video is so diverse with the camera angels switching to different portions of the album cover and really making you feel like yeah this is a real place. The use of 3D with the album cover and the lyricals really made it look like the words were there in that location. The chorus is just a real headbanger like, even if you just discovered Angelmaker you will be able to mosh and headbang to this chorus. A little side note, that I found Leech to be really true in the sense that their are people out there who will leech onto you and drain the life out of you. People who will use you for their benefit and honestly that’s just wrong. Its happen to me recently and i’ve seen it first hand and it never ends well. I’m glad we have bands like this that spread messages through their music about stuff that people really do go through and specifically in this song, the aftermath.

Now Citadel is a totally different song compared to Leech because this song is only an instrumental. Angelmaker really stepped up to the plate with this song and made it really likable as an instrumental only song. The acoustic guitar really solidified the song and I feel it truly pulled it all together. Using an acoustic is very unconvention in the deathcore scene because a majority of what you hear is electric guitar that is used. Angelmaker has worked magic incorporating it all together and making it sound as complete and good Citidel does. It all just runs so smoothly together and in the end it’s a song that has no lyrics, but you can really headbang and jam out to this song. Citadel is definitely one of my favorite and one of the best songs on that entire album. The initial calm really gets you prepared for the storm that takes over the song, while the tempo increases you can feel that something is going to happen with the instrumentals. A really amazing instrumental that has no comparison or equal at the moment. I hope this is a new step in the right direction for instrumental only songs in the world of deathcore. A step that will lead to more progression and more heavy instrumentals as well as more different styles of instrumentals.

I love this album but nothing is perfect and this album is no exception. I really feel like this album had some bad songs and I have a few reasons why. When Dissentient came on (the song is on the album cover for pete’s sake, if it’s going on the cover it better be good) I was really disappointed in Angelmaker due to the similarities between that song and Godless. The drums were so similar through Dissentient and even the way the song was set up was very similar to Godless. What I mean is that Godless had a few quiet instrumental parts and they were great, but what they should have done was change it to feel more like Into Oblivion (another song of the album). It felt to me more like a Godless Part two or just a version they edited out of the final Godless version that is on the album. They used the quiet instrumentals but, they changed it up with the guitars and even the drum rhythm was changed which made it sound unique. Another song that really should have had many more takes or changes before it hit the album was E.L.E like wow, that song was awful. The lyrics are not the issue. The issue is the way Angelmaker designed the instrumentals around the lyrics and the order in which they chose to do it. For example, in the lines “They molded our minds to excel our creation” and “But have you ever wondered if they left us to burn” they were so lacking. The lines that come before these lines are actually cool and exciting but then Angelmaker lets you down and forces it all into this small time frame. I think it ruined the intro of the song and nothing after that really seemed that good the more I slided to it. I would have also changed the order of the album like switching Into Oblivion with No Haven or E.L.E. That is just one solution that I thought of that could have possibly improved the album over all for the better.

Citations:

https://angelmaker.bandcamp.com/album/dissentient

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Posted on 1/16/2020

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