Stop at Nothing

Writhen is a semi-local band from California, but is, from my understanding, fairly well-known in the Southwest USA. This is their first EP and I've gotta say, it's damned good.

The first song, Limit, is a perfect song to start off with. A little throat clearing and the guitars start in. It's a simple, one note riff, but other than that one note, it's pure silence. You know the song is going to start exploding soon, and boy does it! Anton's screams are magnificent on this album, along with Ryan's occasional backing growls. The riffs throughout the entire song are power packed, but a tad too simple. I wish there was a bit more embellishment on some of the riffing because at times, they get a tad boring.

The next song is It Ends At Heaven's Gate. It's a fast thrasher with a catchy riff and, again, more of Anton's excellent screaming. However, I can't help but feel that the drums are weak on this song (most noteably; they aren't much better on any of the other songs). I'm not sure if it's the way the album was produced or the drums he's using, but they sound paper thin with no real oomph behind them. Plus, he's somewhat sloppy at times. I give the guy credit for trying to mix up the beats, but he's just not executing some of it right. Everything else, however, is great. You can definitely hear the Metallica influence in Ryan's guitar solo on this song which is kind of cool.

Phantasmagoria is the third track. It's kind of quick, kind of groovy, but there isn't much more to say about it. I love the riffing, as always. Ryan and Josh are great guitarists and really deliver. Anton puts forth a great vocal performance yet again on this song (I s'pose it's not hard to maintain greatness on only 4 songs, but that's besides the point). The chorus is very powerful, despite it being only one word. The combination of growling with shrieking just works in this case.

And then we have the final track, the title track: Stop At Nothing. It's interesting, it's like they really gave it their all on this track. The drumming is very intense (but still sounds thin), the guitars are squealing, the vocals are screetching, and overall, the song is just a powerhouse from beginning to end. I just can't get enough of Anton's vocals. He screams so well, it almost sounds like he's in pain (not because of the screaming, but screaming because of the pain). Yet another excellent, Metallica-inspired solo by Ryan hits this song at it's climax before ending with a group chant.

"Stop...at...noth-ing!
Stop...at...noth-ing!
Stop...at...noth-ing!
Stop...at...noth-ING!"