MartyrAD
On Earth As It Is In Hell
6.9
After a three year wait, I finally got a chance to hear some new Martyr AD material. I was happy for the guys/and girl when I had heard they got signed to Victory Records as they are a couple of our hometown shredders, and I couldn’t wait to hear what they had to offer after such a long wait.
Well, needless to say, the band has definitely advanced from its previous sound in a sense. It seems that touring with The Haunted has rubbed off on them which is easily apparent in the first track, “Bring Out Your Dead”. That signature Swedish brand of melody is easily noticeable and makes its appearance throughout the rest of the CD here and there. However, this is not to say that Martyr AD has taken a total change of pace. With the very next track, “The Serpent and the Flower”, you get a taste of Martyr’s signature crunch and chaotic death chord riffage, fast and furiously picked, it’s sure to incite pits with ease. Sure enough, Joel and Charlie Johnson’s shredding and crushing metalcore-originating riffs are the main chunk of the album with tons of chugging and a nice sense of melody. Tara Anderson helps add to the crunch when it counts with some pounding bass chugs. I have to say I am enjoying their new vocalist Andy Hart even more than their original. For whatever reason, his gritty scream seems to almost fit the music a bit better than Michael Fisketti’s gruffer growl. Karl Hensel also picks up nicely as the new skins-man.
Now all the right materials for a solid album are here, but why doesn’t On Earth as it is in Hell make as much an impact as The Human Condition in Twelve Fractions did those three years ago? Well, I have to say, after their first release, I was expecting some big things for their sophomore effort. Maybe, herein is where the problem lies. Were my expectations too high? There is no doubt in my mind this is a pretty solid release, but I think it only comes to about par with its predecessor, when it should be surpassing it. I would have to say if you were expecting big things from this band, you will be a bit disappointed, but what is offered here is good. Crushing breakdowns and high-energy riffs abound, On Earth as it is in Hell in my mind is at least worth checking out, if not picking up. A solid album for sure, I was just hoping for something a little more, but who knows what next time around will bring.
