Resistance

Sometimes I wish I could just avoid poorly-rated albums. Something about them always draws me in, a cruel desire to see just how bad other people are at attempting to make music that the general public will appreciate. As of yet there have only been a few releases that I've given 0%, and I'm glad to report that this band doesn't join Waking the Cadaver, Grieving Age and Rotting Cock in that special reserve. Unfortunately though, it doesn't get much higher than that.

Okay, so this is deathcore. Instantly the maximum score it can get is 25%. Now, while that was a joke, I've yet to find a deathcore band that impresses me in the slightest. Apparently this is symphonic deathcore, presumably because having keyboard effects mean that it suddenly can't qualify as pure deathcore. In all honesty the keyboards are the best part, and although they don't fit the music very well they do make it more bearable.

As for guitars, well, it's deathcore. Chug, chug, chug. Just think of that on a loop for every song with the occasional breakdown. In fairness I've heard chugs and breakdowns played far worse, but there is an obvious lack of originality bar a couple of random sections in select songs like Left for Dead, Time to Reap and Say Hello to the Undertaker. It could be worse, but not that much more than it already is.

Drums are a little odd. At points they play blast beats, but at others they feel more paced and actually like there's a talent there. I wish they were a little more consistent, but the flashes of decency at least show that there's something there that could be built on. They're actually heard very easily above the sound of the guitars, which is unusual, but I don't mind when the guitars are so repetitive.

The bit that annoys me most about this band are the vocals. They're so generic, the deep kind of half-growl, half-scream that so many metalcore bands use. At times they almost threaten to become pig squeals, so I'm thankful at least that they can hold themselves back to that extent. But they really put me off of the rest of the action and they drag the music down a grade further even if it's not that good. If I cared about lyrics I might take more marks off, but in all honesty I don't. We all know what to expect from deathcore in that department - an angry man wanting everyone dead while swearing as much as he possibly can.

I must admit, there were bits of this album that I actually found enjoyable. Hang me or whatever, but I liked the sound on One Foot in the Grave at points and despite the same chugs being played over and over and over again on United Through Hatred I found that song to be quite enjoyable. I don't think I've ever said that about deathcore before, but there it is.

Sadly though, it's below average at best. At worst it can be dissected and torn apart to find that there is nothing great to take from this. By the end of the album everything's been recycled so many times that you'd think this band had single-handedly saved the planet, and even the good moments can't be counted as anything more than what you'd call an average track from a fairly disappointing album. The guitars chug on like a train throughout, the drums - while they have their moments - are for the most part pretty inconsistent, the keyboard is so out of place that it's like finding a penguin in Africa, and the vocals are just plain horse crap. All of that is recipe for disaster, and while not as bad as I expected it to be, it's still a complete joke.