Masks

With Out is the very first band I've heard of in my local metal community, so I'm kind of attached to them. These talented and young guys from Bergamo play a kind of death metal with an old school feeling and a lot of groove and thrash. This alchemy really works and the result is a little gem, this great debut ep, especially for such a young band.

Masks is both modern and old-fashioned. While the sound of the guitars is heavily distorted in a way that reminds me of cornerstones of death like old Obituary and Deicide, the singing is typical of modern brutal death metal, with the rhythm section acting as a bridge between old and new. This particular sensation is in part due to the production (not perfect obviously, but it's nothing really important, especially for a self-produced ep), which is very similar to Scott Burns' work, but also pays attention to elements accomplished only later like the prominence of the bass guitar throughout the record, and obviously also to the band's songwriting. The songs are generally mid-tempos, neither fast nor slow, but there are a few tempo changes during a track which keep everything interesting without (ah ah, that was a joke, with out, ah ah... ok, I'll quit) unnecessarily complicating things. In every song drums and bass do their best to deliver some groove, combined with typical death metal songs and intense singing.

Paso and Carlin's guitar work is focused mostly on solid riffing, while it doesn't lack solos (mostly with a thrashin' feeling to them). The beginning of No Choice For You is an example of the great riffs these two can play. We're speaking of a guitar style that is devoted to old thrashin' death like Possessed's and Cannibal Corpse's (Eaten Back To Life), but a little slower and more groovy. The rhythm section is really good: Virgio can blast fast, slow down things when needed, and his drumming, while not innovative (hell, do you even expect it to be so in an album like this?), it's full of energy and passion, and that's what's important. Christ's bass work is awesome, is clearly audible and powerful, and he doesn't just follow the guitars, proving to be independent just when you fell he should be. Then comes the singing. Ah, the singing. Cesc is just a beast. He is like a hoarse death metal singer; his screaming is raucous and evil while his standard growl is brutally guttural, yet intelligible. He can switch between the two anytime (I like variety), crushing you just the way he wants. He is really the strong point of Masks.

The four songs here are little jewels. No Choice For You has a hypnotic main riff, The Mirrors of Your Selfishness is where Virgio and Christ does their best, Exhumed and Decapitated, my personal favourite, features Cesc's best performance, and The Hand of the Hero has a great solo. I just wanted to name a few of their qualities not to be boring, but their level is satisfying thanks to everyone's work as a band.

So I recommend checking out Masks from With Out, a really good debut from a young and passionate band. They can and will improve, but this release is just solid. Listen to it and, if you can, support them!