I really want to like these Massachusetts metallers  more. They feature Colin Conway (ex- Cannae), one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever interviewed, and my reviewing brethren Luke Sanders gushed over their last record, 2013s Blood and Black. Throw in a beefy, modern take on East Coast death/thrash metal and you’d think the recipe was right for success, but the shift from HPGD records to eOne seems to have take the edge off these guys.

When I listen to these guys I can’t help but be reminded  of a now disbanded Philadelphia band I reviewed a few years ago called Fisthammer. They are a jack of all trades, but a master of none. You see, while Soul Remnants do everything in their repertoire  pretty well, I can’t really hang my hat on anything thing they truly blow me away with.

The production of Pete Rutcho (Revocation, Sexcrement, Cellador, The Autumn Offering etc) , is big and burly, the vocals of Mitchell Fletcher are raspy and growly, though not truly death metal,  and overall I get a heavy Revocation meets Lamb of God meets Shadows Fall and even Dethklok vibe with a bit of a heavier, death metal/thrash back bone. And that should not be a bad thing, but the song writing never truly clicks. None of the 9 songs really get me to hit ‘play’ again or get me saying “Hell yeah!”. There’s just 37 minutes of chugging thunderous grooves and blasts. The mid section and closing solo of “Echoes of Insanity” comes close,  “Depravity’s Lock” has a nice rumble to it and nearest thing to a true standout,  “Dissolving Into Obscurity” has a solid, more uptempo blackened/melo death pace ( as does”False Kingdom of Prophecy”) further highlighting the jack of all trades mantra, but otherwise, the material sort of sits awkwardly between thrash and death metal, and neither commits fully.

They even try their hand at instrumental metal for “Walled City” and an acoustic interlude in “Decomposition” that shows the band seems to be going off a template rather than writing from the heart and using their considerable skill to deliver something less formulaic and rigidly all inclusive and something more unique and impressive, which I’m sure they are capable off.

[Visit the band's website]

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