Deathcore

Osiah – Kingdom of Lies Review

By Kenstrosity on May 10, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Deathcore, English Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Deathcore, 30 comments

“Summer is fast approaching—for those who have four seasons, anyway. That means all of the deathcore in the whole world is about to flood the markets and beat down the public just as the blazing Southern sun beats down pasty nerds such as I. English quintet Osiah opted to join the front lines of that inevitable invasion of breakdowns and br00tality with their sophomore album, Kingdom of Lies. This will also be their first outing signed onto Unique Leader. Most of you could guess what to expect from that fact alone, but let’s break it down anyway, shall we?” Break like the wind.

The Machinist – Confidimus in Morte Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 11, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Deathcore, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Deathcore, 62 comments

“Those who liked deathcore in its mid-2000s heyday tend to go through three phases in the following order: 1) earnestly liking deathcore, 2) loudly decrying deathcore to demonstrate one’s extreme metal fides, and 3) earnestly liking deathcore again with the added fun of nostalgia. This nostalgia doesn’t make bad music good, but rather recalls times, places, experiences, and memories where deathcore served as the soundtrack. Those times made us happy, and the soundtrack is what it is because that’s the soundtrack we chose. It follows that deathcore made us happy at one point. The vicarious thrill of great memories scored by it bolsters the appeal of the sounds which drew us in to begin with. You may not be able to go home again, but sometimes spinning the old records left in the dusty crates is wonderful.” The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Applaud the Impaler – Ov Apocalypse Incarnate Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 7, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Deathcore, Technical Death Metal, 32 comments

“Drum patterns emphasize velocity, above which electric guitar promulgates a chaotic aesthetic — not infrequently utilizing dissonant scalar patterns — to complement, to the point of a studious avoidance of juxtaposition, the aesthetic of furious speed cultivated herein. A huge breakdown hits right after, rattling skulls and seething with adrenaline. Complexity is easy, simplicity is hard — just look at academic writing. The difference between these two sentences — the first overtly if not needlessly complex, the second easy to read and appealing to those who grew up enjoying the deathcore boom of the mid-to-late 2000s — is a good picture of my reaction to Applaud the Impaler’s new record Ov Apocalypse Incarnate.” Tip your impaler.

Praying Angel – The Judgement Review

By El Cuervo on November 1, 2018 in 2018, Boersma Records, Deathcore, German Metal, Reviews, Deathcore, 50 comments

“Core. Not derived from apples or occupying the space below the Earth’s mantle, but of the musical ilk. Born of hardcore and its angry urgency, heavy metal has long since identified the musical and emotive commonalities between the two genres, fusing the two into “metalcore.” While the melodic metalcore which has become synonymous with the genre always had much more to do with Iron Maiden and Gothenburg melodic death metal than thoroughbred hardcore, deathcore has generally retained the brute force of both of its composite styles. Do I adjudge such potency in Germany’s Praying Angel and their debut full-length release called The Judgement?” Explores the cores.

Stormland – Songs of Future Wars Review

By Grymm on August 9, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Self-released, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Thrash Metal, 75 comments

“The Grymm Grab Bag… Dungeons & Dragons-esque item of mystery and deception. The bag has blessed me with many musical gifts and bitten my sorry ass in equal measure over the years. Like the sorry cat-guy that I am, I should know better than to stick my grubby, unwashed paw into its gaping maw. This week, I have pulled out Songs of Future Wars, the debut album by one-man death metal act Stormland.” Gundam style.

Obliterate – Impending Death Review

By Master of Muppets on May 30, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Slam, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 95 comments

“Though the list of bizarre shit to be experienced and eventually incorporated into the norm only continues to grow, there are still some things that you just don’t expect to actually encounter for yourself. Cheese-stuffed fried chicken, lapdogs that aren’t insufferable yippy shits, an album brutal enough for Kronos… each of these wonderful oddities exists, but they’re hard at work being hard to find and proving my point. Among this list of wonderment and rarity is deathcore that I can tolerate beyond 15 seconds.” Buried treasurecore.

Ingested – The Level Above Human Review

By Kronos on April 26, 2018 in British Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, Slam, 46 comments

“Slow year for death metal though it has been, things are speeding up — metaphorically, that is. Manchester’s finest slamongers are back with their fourth full-length insult, The Level Above Human, and as always they’re peddling their trademark combination of deathcore and brutal slam. It’s an influential mix and one that plenty of today’s slam-purveyors like Vulvodynia and Abominable Putridity owe their success to. Yet as fun, as the beatdown combo can be, quality control has never been a hallmark of either genre. Ingested navigate the bloodied, goopy waters of brutal deathcore as well as any crew of veteran slam sailors, and though The Level Above Human won’t change your world, it will change the position of your head in relation to that world with great regularity.” Level up or die.

The Dali Thundering Concept – Savages Review

By Huck N Roll on April 24, 2018 in 2018, Apathia Records, Deathcore, Djent, French Metal, Mathcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Deathcore, Djent, Mathcore, Progressive Metal, 45 comments

“First of all, that’s a pretty cool name. The Dali Thundering Concept. Cool enough that it made me spend a couple of hours on the InterGoogle in an effort to discern its origins, but to no avail. Oh well. Here’s what I like about this French band: their music is a mish-mash of styles, including prog, deathcore, djent, and jazz. Aside from the –coreness, I’m up for it.” Loud Dali or no Dali at all!

Rivers of Nihil – Where Owls Know My Name Review

By Kronos on March 15, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Metal Blade, Progressive Death, Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 152 comments

“Rivers of Nihil have grown since Monarchy, and Where Owls Know My Name is more mature and nuanced than either of the band’s previous records.” Growth, maturity, evolution, rivers.

Krosis – Solem Vatem Review

By Kronos on March 13, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Deathcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 58 comments

“It seems as if the late-2000s progressive deathcore scene is still strong, with stalwarts like Born of Osiris still putting out albums while newcomers like Shadow of Intent drop new and exciting explorations of the style. Perhaps it’s the years lost to the flash-in-the-pan djent experiments or the people playing the music simply growing older, but the oft-maligned microgenre seems to have become a bit more self-aware in the decade since its inception. And while gauged earlobes and squeaky-clean production die hard, good songwriting lasts forever. Do Krosis have what it takes to keep it moving forward?” Death and songcraft.