Akeldama

The Faceless is a technical death metal band from Encino. On this record however, they used deathcore elements as well. Do not let it change your opinion on this album, as it is still extremely technical and well done. Everything is extremely tight, and each element is proven to be used nearly to its fullest potential.

The vocals are excellent, they don't sound one bit weak or tired. Derek Rydquist has powerful and solid vocals which speak for themselves. His lows and highs are each very good and I never get tired of him. However, I do wish his vocals were enunciated better and it was easier to understand at least some of his lines. Otherwise, very good vocals. The one thing I actually hated were the clean vocals used only on Pestilence. Way too whiny and stupid sounding.

The guitars are a huge highlight of the album. There are very fast, catchy melodic riffs being played every single song without being overused. These riffs are very catchy, well played, and all around are amazing. There is also plenty of sweeping, soloing, pinch harmonics, and less chugging that is played and it is all at the next level. It seems as if it is played with such ease and grace. Nothing sounds fake or modified at all, and it really makes the musicians shine. Overall, Michael Keene should just stick to playing guitar and not clean singing, because it is evident he is a very talented musician.

The bass is at times a bit audible, and can be heard in the background if you listen closely. For the most part, it follows the guitars but that alone is still a plus considering how technical and complex the guitars are. It is given a couple parts like in the title track and briefly in Ghost of a Stranger. If the bass was given more shining moments such as that, and was a bit louder, I would have no problem with it.

The drumming is fantastic. It is an ongoing storm of blastbeating and bass kicking that never lets up. It is played at such fast speeds and still manages to stay along with the rest of the band, which is another plus. There is a lot of patterning and variety to it, as well as having some awesome fills. Like the guitars, it also sounds very realistic as if it wasn't just done by a drum machine.

There are even some keyboards in the album, and they actually work very well. They add more taste and flavor to the music, and without the keyboards this album would seem less interesting and more stale. For the most part I really enjoy the keyboards and there area couple different effects used throughout each song for more variety, but it works incredibly well. The only time I don't enjoy them is a few parts in the title track of the album. There are less breakdowns used on this album then on your average deathcore album, but the breakdowns here are powerful and hit hard as fuck. They have those moments of suspense which make them seem even cooler.

In terms of changing sound from this album to the next, there really isn't a terrible difference. There is less clean singing here, less chugging, and probably the biggest difference, there are breakdowns here. The reason I prefer Akeldama to the other Faceless albums is that it is more original, rawer, nostalgic, memorable, and enjoyable to listen to. Also, having breakdowns offers more taste to the album and makes it seem less stale. My favorite track on the album is Leica, because it captures everything I'd want in a metal song. It has lots of technicality, brutality, solid performances from each aspect, an excellent solo to finish it off, and all in all is just very satisfying to listen to. For deathcore and death metal fans, please pick this album up. There is not one thing you'll have a serious issue with.