Virginia (mainly Richmond) has shown to be a hotbed for modern American metal and has rendered some superior bands over the years. Gwar, Lamb of God, and Municipal Waste are just a few who have erupted out of this area and made quite a name for themselves. Newcomers Adversary, the latest spewed from Manassas Virginia, are a talented batch and show some serious promise on Singularity, their Trustkill debut (which was originally self released back in 2006).

Granted, it is very hard for any modern American metal act to show their face without being ridiculed for sounding like the other, Adversary do an excellent job of mixing it up just enough that a single “metalcore” label will not suffice. There isn’t anything new brought to the table, yet just the right mix of many styles infused to make a quite enjoyable record.

Storming out with opener “Hedonist,” Adversary display many Gothenburg melodic death metal influences complete with harsh, almost black metal vocals. Duel guitar harmonies swirl through most of the music with unrelenting drum pounding and just enough Lamb of God/Pantera groove for that American flavor. “Manifest Humility” is very Lamb of God sounding but there is something about Adversary’s sound that is much more urgent and nasty. The aggressive nature of this band is damn near blackened thrash and surpasses Trivium, Killswitch, and Lamb of God.

Clean sung chorus lines add an accessible flavor to Singularity but William Clapp’s delivery isn’t quite run of the mill. The choruses don’t open up with epic sing along sections like Killswitch, so there certainly are no “pussy” sections. The clean vocals are more on the line of Fear Factory’s delivery.

Another positive thing with Singularity is the fact that Adversary doesn’t pull out the breakdown every damn second. As a matter of fact, they just don’t do it. This record is just speed and fierce riff after fierce riff with tasteful solos every now and then.

Singularity isn’t without flaws but it borrows the best of everything from melodic death to thrash and good old American groove metal. This is a pissed off band that displays plenty of talent. I for one am anxious to see how they hold up with future releases.

[Visit the band's website]

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