This Hole Isn't Deep Enough for the Twelve of You

I had a bad feeling checking out this band, I heard they were the worst kind of vapid deathcore. Deathcore is not at all a genre I am partial to - mostly because of the ever-present breakdowns. While this is definitely deathcore and certainly has breakdowns, I find it hard to hate. Thankfully there is enough other guitar work to balance out the breakdowns.

The breakdowns are undeniably a big part of this music, and they do drag it down a bit. While there are probably more than there should be, a hell of a lot of deathcore bands are a lot worse with that. Breakdowns aren't the only type of guitar work Thy Art Is Murder employ. The best guitar style by far on this demo are the tremolo riffs. While a bit melodic, they are still heavy. They function best when two guitars are playing the tremolo melody in harmony. There are also occasional riffs which sound like metalcore, which aren't great, but are good for what they are. The random riff of other varieties are also included. The lead guitar is noteworthy. There is some melodic wankery, which is used sparsely enough to be an interesting addition. This technique is most notably used in "Parasitic Autopsy".

The vocals vary a lot. There is your average guttural growl, along with a high pitched rasp. Both of these are done adequately but never spectacular. The BREE BREE vocals and the over the top death gurgle, which both call brutal death metal home turf, also make the occasional appearance. While I usually have high disdain for those vocal styles, they are very well executed here and cause no problems at all. Besides the influx of breakdowns, the drumming is one of the only things really wrong with this. The tone they get sounds very mechanical. Also, these drums are definitely triggered, and not in a very original fashion. While they don't ruin everything, they don't add that much.

While annoying in sections, as a whole this demo isn't bad at all. I'm not sure it breaks into "good" territory, but for something with so many typical highly down-tuned breakdowns, this isn't horrible. This is highly accessible and features production that would not at all reveal that this is a band's first demo. While the breakdowns and mechanical drumming do put a damper on things, I would rather listen to this than a countless number of deathcore bands.