Reclusion
Shell of Pain
5.6
Everywhere I see Reclusion's name the word thrash seems to follow ever so closely. While I don't see this as an actual detrimental label. When in all actuality I am sure the word thrash will grace my review as well. I do see it as a term that when mentioned you generally hear the phrase old school somewhere in the mix as well. I do believe old school remnants basically lie in all modern music due to the obvious evolution. Today's metal had to come from somewhere so of course you can quite easily say it came from old school, simple. Now somewhere around here I have a point. Ah yes, how do you think Reclusion would feel if I called the material on their 2001 release Shell of Pain. An old school thrash metal pilgrimage of unoriginal songs we've all heard before. Because of course it's Old School. Getting my point at all yet, fok I hope so because I think I have lost it. Here is the bottom line. Whereas modern bands do incorporate thrash vexing and old school remnants I can't believe any Modern Metal band out there wants to be called old school, dammit. Just to clear some shit up. Reclusion's latest release Shell of Pain is not a pilgrimage of unoriginal old school metal. They do (here we go) have an overall thashy vibe going on. Most notably the time signatures, but they have modernized the feel of Shell of Pain with the vocal attack and of course the neoteric production. With the original recordings being engineered by Andy la Rouque, master axe avenger of King Diamond. Only later to be re-mixed by some dude named Risza. To give it the final push into the world of modern production. The guitar assault does incorporate speed with some pretty impressive lead sections. There are melodic parts within the blend creating some creative passages. I really dug the sound of Marek's kick drum and snare. They delivered some barbarous rumbles and smack. The vocals vary from some throaty not quite death, to clean and off to some large group vocals for accents resulting in a heavy savor. Bottom Line: I have listened to this much of the week. There are some quite impressive parts. It is metal through and through. I am not quite sure how much staying power it will behold though. I can tell you this much. When reaching for Slayer's God Hates Us All or Reclusion's Shell of Pain seven times out of ten Reclusion will hit the player first.
7.1
The first thing to come to mind upon my initial listen to Shell Of Pain was, "What in the world is this guy yelling for?" The next thing that came to mind was, "Damn! That's some pretty good music underneath all that hollering." Simply put, I really dig the music Reclusion has to offer, but to be 100% honest with you the singing (yelling) does very little for me. I can only think of one singer I actually enjoy that incorporates the "Old Yeller" monotone style and that would be Tom Araya of Slayer. Don't get me wrong, I'm only speaking from a personal standpoint here and I'm sure there are many of you that will accept the vocals as being plenty satisfying. The sound and style of this band is that of aggressive and melodic metal with a touch of influence from the thrash legends of the 80's and 90's. Aside from the singing, the music here is reminiscent of the overly plagiarized sounds of At The Gates and In Flames, with a touch of Soilwork (minus the keyboards). I guess this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but what it does is pretty much lumps you together with all the bands that have done this style for ages. What I truly believe this band needs to do to be a driving force in today's scene is get a singer that can front this band the way Tomas Lindberg, Anders Friden and Speed Strid have done so well throughout their careers. There are, however, many excellent qualities this disc has to offer. One of them being the stellar production. Every instrument is perfectly mixed and I'm very impressed with the lead guitar tone displayed during the solos. While this is the first effort from Reclusion I do believe they are headed in the right direction and have unleashed a fine debut release in Shell Of Pain. There are some excellent tracks on here that I find myself singing in my head once the ride is over. If Reclusion can use the same recipe that they've used here with some minute tweaking in the right places (extremely aggressive vocals my friends), then they are sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the future. If you are into any of the bands mentioned in this piece, then you will surely discover something in this CD to please your metal needs. For even though it may seem I've been negative towards this disc, it is quality metal worthy of getting a spin in the "home system" from time to time. Favorite Track: Impulsive
