A Visceral Experience in a Superficial World / Lotus Eaters

I’m really not fond of hardcore mixing in with my metal, and it doesn’t matter if it’s metalcore or deathcore; I just don’t like it. But I gotta say Dim Vision starts out so damn brilliantly with Absence of light they almost have me convinced it’s a good idea. Right from the get go the riffing’s so damn catchy I almost arrange my own little private moshpit here at home, and the somewhat upbeat tempo gives it another energy injection, the growling voice brings brutality to the mix and the sudden tempo changes, cool drum beats (along with some blasting where the song almost takes on a powerviolence/grindcore sound) and a quick break of a classic hardcore choir they’ve got all the ingredients for one hell of a song. This is without a doubt the best example I’ve ever encountered on how to implement a bit of hardcore into death metal, simply ‘cause they don’t overdo it. As the record goes on their style moves a little more in the direction of modern day death metal, but without the overburdening melody that plagues the genre today. They mix in tons of different styles and genres, and it’s actually pretty damn difficult to label them. Mission 2A has some flairs of black metal thrown into a guitar-line lurking in the background, just as it carries the same kind of upbeat and energetic take on drumming as the previously mentioned Absence of light. It winds up as some kind of mixture between I.N.R.I., Bolt Thrower (just listen to Extremely low frequencies) and with a flair of early Fear Factory. I never would’ve guessed it myself, but it actually works really well, even when it hints of Born From Pain it works. The riffing’s varied and interesting, the drumming keeps you on suspense since you never really know what’ll happen, the vocals are ace for nailing the mixed genres perfectly, and the general material and song-writing is just killer. The only remark I really have to make is I can’t stand the lame spoken vocals towards the end of Extremely low frequencies; it just ruins an otherwise good song.

After such a great start we have fellow countrymen Nadir, taking the sound in a more typical deathcore way, and this is where it all goes down the drain. The harsh and almost torturous vocals are pretty good, except for when it goes for some kind of weird half-arsed Rage Against the Machine/Korn-type of rap-like screaming in Lotus eaters (I mean what the hell is that all about?). To me the overall material presented here is just plain uninteresting; a simple shrug of the shoulders in reaction. I suppose I get what they’re trying to accomplish, (which to me is) some kind of mix between Crowbar, Pro-Pain and Born From Pain, and they also have a sociopolitical agenda behind to their lyrics. But it’s just not for me, this is just not my cup of tea. I have great problems with the groove-take on the riffing, and I find the tempo to be too slow, which leaves it lacking any real umph and power. And while on the subject the drumming stays pretty much the same, tempo-wise, throughout the four tracks, which leaves it a bit boring as well. The riffing doesn’t offer any real excitement either, and goes by without me even noticing it. And it’s difficult for me to judge this even remotely objective since I’m so incredibly subjective when it comes to deathcore. I’ll just leave it being said; this is not for me.

Originally written for My Last Chapter