The Greek trio Bullethole, formerly known as Human Decay, has brought their debut CD Incarceration to the mortal kind, also known as human beings (that is us). According to the band themselves, what we’re given is a mix between The Haunted and Hatebreed. And to my surprise, they’re not that far off with their ‘thrash core’ assessment. Incarceration is pretty much your basic modern, ‘hammering’ metal album with hints from the most heaviest of metal related genres playing around hand in hand. Nothing special, nothing new but at least it’s not the worst thing out there within the style.

The Haunted comparison comes out most clearly on top with the mellower parts, since the guitars’ vibes change into something that we heard on Haunted’s Made me Do It album. However, generally the guitars are rather muddy and the vocals, or the shouting as I like to call it, are mixed to the front. With a clearer mix, at least on the guitar department, the barrage at the end of “Drowned” could have very well been a highlight of the week but now it just lacks the power that it so much tries to give to the listener. The album starts weak but luckily it gets better and better each minute. Unfortunately, as a whole, it never reaches the grand heights.

Out of these, late coming standard tracks, “Moment of Hate” is clearly the standout piece. It’s closest to original thrash with a violent drum start and then goes into the oh so admired speedy riffage. Even the vocals reminded me of early thrash-attack, rather than the modern, yet generic New York/Jersey hardcore tough guy slander. The brightest moment, for me at least, is the ending track “Molestias”. It’s an instrumental with strong bass line in the front and nice, nearly ethic, percussion work in the background. Unlike the songs before it (other than “Moment of Hate”), it has content and most of all, identity. And that’s just what the rest songs on Incarceration lack: personality. We already have one copy of The Haunted and another copy of Hatebreed. But as things are, Bullethole is still a young band with a lot of growth to achieve, so there’s at least some hope that they’ll be able to treat people with a much more colorful package the next time around.

[Visit the band's website]

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