The Damascus Intervention
Carefully Built | Carelessly Destroyed
7.5
Synopsis:
Virtually the same sort of EP as Christian inspired brutality as label mates The Murdered, just with a bit better songwriting...
Review:
As easy as it would be to simply cut and paste my review of The Murdered’s solid but predictable And The Maggots Shall Inherit the Earth, seeing as it’s the same sort of death metal tinged metalcore, what little professional integrity I have prevented me from doing so. Plus, The Damascus Intervention have slightly better grasp of melody than The Murdered’s more direct take on the genre.
Hailing from the metalcore hotbed of North Carolina, The Damascus Intervention’s bloodlines are palpable in their various harmonies and seem to be a band that carries the area’s early impact in the genre within their heavier tones. The swathe of breakdowns, galloping harmonies, screams, growls and the usual metalcore/deathcore cliches will likely cause much eye rolling amid the general metal population, but if you, like me, enjoy the genre, The Damascus Intervention offers up a very worth while five songs of brutish metalcore.
With a more natural production than The Murdered’s over-produced effort, each track is the expected mix of European harmonies and rumbling breakdowns. A I stated earlier, the harmonies are certainly traceable to bands like Prayer For Cleansing, but The Damascus Intervention come with a little more heft than their obvious peers. The five tracks are each competent displays of the genre, with a few more moments of restraint and grace than The Murdered, but nothing that really grabs me or screams “play me again!” with maybe the exception of the ultra heavy bass drop that signals the start of the immense breakdown of the EP’s title track or the acoustic segue of “The Last Days of Humanity”.
Obviously, the Christian nature of the lyrics will be a point of contention for some of the more narrow minded metal heads, but I have no problem when bands like this, Beyond the Archetype or With Blood Comes Cleansing are doing things this competently heavy, I can’t complain.
I guess, my ultimate review of this EP is this: Would I purchase this full length album at full cost when it comes out? Yes. Take that as you will. Could I wait for that album and pass on this EP? Yes. Make your choice - a happy meal or this EP and salvation (just kidding).
