Yo, bro, do you like deathcore? Well, bro, do you, bro? I don’t know why I decided to start this review in such a way, but I figured I would just let you, dear reader and disciple, know what you’re getting into immediately. So, if you want to back out, I get it… but not all deathcore is bad.

This isn’t, either. If you read the promo materials, they claim this is a combo of death metal and metalcore… So, yeah, like I said. Deathcore… but it does certainly sound like chugging metalcore frequently.  They also mention it’s an album about human rights and not politics. I know some of you may not be on board with that, which I don’t really get if you’re into metal, but to each their own.

To begin, the first two tracks, aptly titled “Intro” and “Wake Up, Time To Die” merge perfectly together. They’re both relatively short beatdowns and if you happened to be listening and didn’t see the tracks switch, you could be forgiven for thinking they didn’t. There’s nothing too special here honestly, but you basically get the point already just a few minutes in.

The second official track (third if you count the intro) “Thots and Purveyors” should much let you know where they stand on a certain world leader with the phrase “Take your red hat and shove it up your ass.” This song also includes a guest performance from Jon Howard of Threat Signal and this year’s excellent Imonolith (it’s still 2020 as this is being written) although he is mostly in the background.

Out of all of the tracks on display here, the standouts are the one mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph and “Rebel Scum,” which is track 6. Greg Burgess of Allegaeon makes a guest appearance on guitars with the latter and one can tell there’s a different axe man. The djenty opening certainly makes it recognizable from the rest, but the leadwork throughout is the best on the record.

So, the becomes; Is this worth your time? In short, it’s a fun, quick, enjoyable beatdown. It’s clear they’re passionate about what they do and have a good time. There are loads of samples throughout the album and they’re from the comedy, not horror genre, which is surprising considering this is still metal. Overall, this isn’t bad, but if you’re looking for the best and most inventive deathcore from last year, I’d recommend offerings from Suicide Silence and Lorna Shore who have injected some experimental qualities into their releases and eclipse this by a mile. The album is not without its merits, but I don’t see myself returning to it much.

 

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