Cannae
Gold Becomes Sacrifice
7.9
Although I wasn’t that impressed with Cannae’s second effort, Horror, they stuck in my mind because of their creative band name (a battle in 216BC in which Hannibal defeated the Romans) that did not contain the words hope, angel or dies. Now with 3/5 turnover of the band since that release, Cannae appear to be a force to be reckoned with and are worthy of mention in the same breathe as God Forbid, Shadows Fall, All That Remains and Lamb of God; that’s to say, flag bearers on the so called ‘American metal’ movement.
Part thrash, part hardcore, part melodic death, all metal, New Hampshire’s Cannae have pieced together the formula that has made the aforementioned acts darling of the metal media and legends to your average America teen metal fan. It’s aggressive, tight, free from clean segues, superbly produced and fueled with metallic anger, rather than metalcore’s mope or hardcore’s politics. Admittedly, if you are tired of the scene as a whole, there’s not much here for you, but for the rest of us, Gold Becomes Sacrifice is a solid offering.
As if to 'metal' up this album, Cannae enlisted Jason Suecof (Capharnaum, Crotchduster) and producing god Jim Morris (do you really need me to list everything he's been involved with?) to twiddle the knobs on this record, and it shows with a robust, pure metal tone. Also lending a helping hand is guitar legend James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Disincarnate), who along with Suecof provides a guest solo. There metal heads, does that give it enough credibility for you?
This thing starts with a bang as “Rats, Snakes and Thieves” double kicks its way into your memory. It’s the kind of intro that would get a mosh pit going 2 sends into a gig. The third track “Indemnity” also delivers a swift kick into the crown jewels with a dramatic vocal opening from Adam DuLong, who has a genre perfect scowl. Unfortunately, after the lumbering “Marked by Monuments” Cannae feel the need to break up the album’s early intensity with a rather piece meal acoustic track, “Collapse”. It’s slightly forced, but does give the listener a bit of a breather before careening back into to the fray with the blistering “Mechanics of Moving Backwards”. Now I will admit, by the time “Audience of the Unspoken” rolls by, my attention is waning somewhat, but that’s more a result of my multiple reviewing gigs that continually force me to form opinions quickly and accurately and move on, more than it is Cannae efforts. I did check out Murphy’s solo on “Bastinado” and Suecof’s solo on “Acts of False Signals” but neither appear too monumental or album defining from the other solos. Especially when you hear Alex Vieira's own impressive solo on album closer "Fear and Panic". Drummer Colin Conway and bassist Shane Frisby provide a solid, tight backbone that’s strictly death metal as heard on the blasting “Acts of False Signals”.
If you find God Forbid’s IV: Constitution of Treason a little too commercial or Lamb of God are a little too big headed for you, Cannae’s level headed no nonsense approach may appeal to you. They certainly measure up musically, but without the egos.
