Review of With Dead Hands Rising - The Horror Grows Near

What do you get when you cross American death metal, a touch of harsh Swede-brandished metalcore, and a tad bit of grind? With Dead Hands Rising, dammit. Returning with their latest EP, The Horror Grows Near, the band has taken everything to the next level. The music is tighter and more complicated, the songs are well put together, and everything has gotten heavier. I really enjoyed their debut, Behind Inquisition, but I believe this release fully shows what this band is capable of in the future.

Dave Balaski does a number on the drums, improving over Dan Johnson's offering on their previous album. His double kicks are fast and solid along with his blasting, and his ability to follow along with some of their quite complicated breakdowns; it's rather impressive. Ty Inhofer's knack for tossing out creative and catchy riffs is also a high point for this band. He takes hints from all that is good in metal. There's a bit of Swedish blend metal, a nice smattering of good old American death, a few hints of grind, a lush sense of melody, and breakdowns that will leave you scratching your head. One of my favorite parts of With Dead Hands Rising has always been Colin Strandberg's vocals. Not only is his voice more powerful on this recording, but his patterns are downright catchy as hell to go along with the rest of the music. It's been a while since I've heard a CD this crushing that manages to stick in your head like any of the latest pop-radio singles. Songs like "Distress Patterns" pretty much force your head to bob, especially that old school galloping riff found close to the middle. Not to mention the very short clapping (it's only 3 claps actually) part in "Corey Feldman as the Devil," akin to the catchiness of the clapping part in the first song off of Between the Buried and Me's Silent Circus.

The five song EP ultimately left me craving much more. I definitely want to hear another full-length release from this band. With Dead Hands Rising has proven they are quite capable of writing a damn fine album and I really hope they bless us with a full-length soon. If you like your metalcore to be borderline death metal, then this should be right up your alley. With Dead Hands Rising will shred you to pieces with technicality and proceed to steamroll you with crushing breakdowns, all the while with a manical metal grimace on their faces.

Release Details

With Dead Hands Rising

The Horror Grows Near

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