Burn In Silence
Angel Maker
7.6
What I do not know is whether this CD is the result of the influence of a few of the best CDs I have heard over the last few years or if this is just a happy accident. I am referring to the rhythmic methods best illustrated by Devolved and The Amenta. Flayingly precise, heavily recorded death metal with a focus on rhythmic clarity and complexity. Whereas the two bands mentioned are slightly purer form of death with a hint of black, especially in the use of Amenta's keyboards, this band resides closer to the metalcore camp, from the hardcore shouted verses and flatly melodic chorii to the staccato style of guitar playing.
The guitars are all rhythm and run, showing very little riff. A few melodic leads here and there, but mostly standard metalcore thrashing. The keyboards are modern, standard video game inspired blandness, but they are not impeding, for the most part. It's the rhythms that set this group apart, giving them both an edge other bands in this genre lack and a kinship with the Vehemence method of true dramatic content in metal. The complexity of the timing offsets the sappiness of the metalcore basics, keeping the listener intrigued, at the very least. The clean vocals, in this context, actually work the way they did the first time you heard Fear Factory do it. They add interest instead of covering up a lack of ideas.
Musicianship is professional, and inspired, as though the band understands that they have a sound base, but that the real power has to come from the performance. With the kind of tightness this style requires, they still find a way to make it interesting and organic instead of clinical. The production is standard fare. The guitars could have been meatier, but then again that might have messed up the equilibrium that makes the percussiveness such a treat. In short, it serves the nature of the record well.
All this in not to say that you will find an epiphany here. This is, at its heart, a death/metalcore record. It's inclusion of the latest in rhythmic violence certainly raises it above it's bland brethren, but it does not qualify it to join the ranks of the bands mentioned earlier just yet. The band has to show us something particular to itself next time out, rather than showing us the best of it's contemporaries.
The bottom line is as complex as the timing of this album. I like this record, but I don't LOVE this record. I feel like it's almost a tribute to some of the best ideas of that last few years in metal, but I don't feel like the band itself is adding something to the mix. It has that potential, though, and perhaps that's reason enough to look into them. At worst this record is a damned good listen for fans of metalcore and the bands listed above. And I think even for the general metal public. There is power, ferocity and style. But I, the bastard critic, want more. This group has the tools and the ability to deliver.
