Arise / Corrin

Arise is another short-lived metalcore band from Massachusetts state that has only released three splits and a single. Their first split was released in 1993 with another local band named Nevertheless. The other two splits were released in 1996; the first one being with Overcast and the second one is this album I'm reviewing. And a year later they released a single before calling it quits. Now, unless by any chance you can find their splits and single and actually check out their music and specifically their AC/DC cover of Jailbreak, which isn't available anywhere on the internet or YouTube, I can't review it even if I wanted to.

Fortunately, for the purpose of this review, Corrin's Concealed Suffer of Addiction is available and HOLY SHIT this song wreaks! Just start by looking at their single artwork - it's so dark and infused with pain and despair and never mind the fact that it's an amazing atmospheric track that adds a lot of melodic layers, you could argue whether it's metalcore or melodic death metal. Either way, it sounds way too cruel for both genres.

Let's start with the slow, doomy, dark and horrific bass tones that resemble the likes of the first Devil May Cry game (when you just entered the castle). Then we get into the actual intro with more guitars to add more to the atmosphere. The clean vocals are hardly audible, but if you could pay enough attention to them; just the voice of Jesse and how it blends well with the main riff, it makes the atmosphere even darker. The main riff as it's preceded by the opening bass ends at 1:40. Then we get into the action. Raw, distorted and heavy power-chorded guitars, Jesse's overwhelming screams with inaudible clean vocals, and the bass is SO groovy. As the song progresses and we get into the chorus, it's so bone-chilling and melodic. The effects on the instruments are insanely well-executed. After the chorus, Jesse starts blending some death growls. The bridge is very melancholic and distraught, thanks to the guitar solo, the bass's much heavier tones, and Jesse closing the track with both his scream and death growl. I haven't mentioned the drums even once - that's because the production didn't provide a proper mix for them and therefore sounded way too simple for such an extreme song.

I could be wrong about what I said, about Jesse's vocals. Maybe it was Joe Cantrell, the guitarist and backing vocals of the band. But either way, this song is WAYYYYYYYYY better than I remembered it. Funny enough, Corrin wasn't a band that struck me as a very raw or extreme metalcore band or a melodic death metal band. The song itself wasn't as good as I remembered it as well. Then again, coincidentally to my obsession of wanting to find out more about what all the Killswitch Engage members have been doing before the formation, Corrin PROBABLY turned out to be the first death metal band I ever listened to. So Concealed Suffer of Addiction: if there are bands with a similar style in the likes to that song, I want that shit! Fucking A song!