Deathcore

Lorna Shore – Pain Remains Review

By GardensTale on October 18, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 143 comments

What a rollercoaster the last few years have been for Lorna Shore. Shortly after completing its big label debut Immortal, before the tour even started, vocalist CJ McReery was kicked to the curb for allegedly vile and reprehensible behavior. Considering extra-extreme vocals were one of the band’s pillars, they needed to find a unicorn on short notice. Enter Will Ramos stage left, originally recruited as a stand-in, who proceeded to casually go viral over the course of the pandemic.” The pain of change.

Warforged – The Grove | Sundial Review

By Kenstrosity on September 7, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 64 comments

“It took an unprecedented length of time for me to appreciate Warforged’s debut I: Voice back in 2019. In fact, I was so moved by the record once it finally clicked that I awarded it an enthusiastic 1.5-point upgrade. Naturally, that puts a lot of pressure on the follow-up, entitled The Grove | Sundial. Upon learning that Adrian Perez—who was in charge of lead vocals, keyboards, sampling, piano, and lyrics on I: Voice—separated from the project, I balked.” Forging a new weapon.

Eaten by Sharks – Eradication Review

By Carcharodon on August 31, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 55 comments

“The odds of getting bitten by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067, significantly lower than the chances of being killed by fireworks (1 in 340,733) or normal, non-selfie related drowning (1 in 1,134). Indeed, if you want a good reason to stay out of the water, it’s lightning, which is 47 times more likely to kill you than a shark. What then are the chances of St. Catharines, Canada natives Eaten by Sharks catching lighting in a bottle on their self-released debut album, Eradication?” Sharkratio: Eaten by Stats.

Truent – Through the Vale of Earthly Torment Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on June 26, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Technical Death Metal, 33 comments

“Tech death is a tough game. In the skill-leading genre even more so does the crowd appear faceless, a mathy mob of scholarly guitar solos, flatulent bass, and trigger-happy kit-meisters. To stand out in the tech realm, contemporary fan favorites Archspire combine ridiculous speeds with memorable, rap-adjacent vocals and neoclassical sweeps aplenty. Meanwhile, bands in the Psycroptic school of thought attempt groove whiplash with 270 degree riff-corners that drift into stadium-size choruses. On their debut full-length outing, the young Canadian outfit Truent shows they are fans of these two styles of tech and try to paint an identity fusing them with a little modern core sentimentality.” Arms race.

Timōrātus – My Life In a Made Metal Band Review

By Cherd on June 13, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 70 comments

“Timōrātus is a deathcore project comprised primarily of David and Courtney Napier. They started out back in 2006 as a decidedly serious evangelical Christian band—their name means “full of reverence towards God; devout” in Latin—until just a couple years ago when they turned to parody in 2020’s My Life In a Mediocre Metal Band. This would explain why the jokes, such as they are, remain doggedly G-rated. One could call them youth pastor-y.” Spinal Pap.

Sickseed – Goregeous Review

By El Cuervo on June 6, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Deathcore, 30 comments

“The downside of being one of the longer-standing writers is a failure to adapt to our new system of promo selection. If you don’t claim promo on the day it becomes available 1 month in advance of release, you’re left with nothing but the dreck and the chaff. For what I can only assume is its “horror metal” tag, and the fact that there’s never been a good “horror metal” release, Sickseed’s Goregeous was one of a great many promo left in the pool for my selection. I won’t pretend there was any design or deliberation in my choosing it; it was a symptom of necessity and my own tardiness.” Freedom from choice.

Sensory Amusia – Breed Death Review

By Felagund on May 31, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 14 comments

“Sensory Amusia are an interesting and, I’d contend, somewhat enigmatic band. They released their debut album in 2013 and then basically went dark. They popped up again six years later with an EP, quickly followed by another the following year. Now, two years after that last sojourn, Sensory Amusia have resurfaced again, this time with their first full-length in almost a decade. In many ways, Breed Death marks a departure from their 2013 debut, but even the most Vogonesque bands among us tend to evolve and grow. Whether that growth pulled the band in a more positive direction musically is another question.” Selective breeding.

Enragement – Atrocities Review

By Saunders on May 19, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, 21 comments

“It’s slammin’ time! Yes, the often divisive brutal death variant can seem at times difficult to do exceptionally well. The quality versus quantity ratio does seem a tad out of whack, and while I prefer my slam with other intriguing stylistic or compositional elements, it certainly has a bludgeoning, base-level appeal when the mood strikes and the execution is on point. Unheralded Finnish act Enragement are hardly a household name, however, the quartet have been bouncing around the underground since forming in 2006 and have two LPs under their belt prior to dropping this third slab of chunkified slammy death, entitled Atrocities.” Rage intensifies…

Upon a Burning Body – Fury Review

By Dear Hollow on May 3, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Groove Metal, Metalcore, 26 comments

“Upon a Burning Body is a quartet from San Antonio, Texas, vocalist Danny Leal and guitarist Ruben Alvarez the only original members remaining. Beginning with 2019’s Southern Hostility, the act started to get away from the bitter taste of the ironically titled The World is My Enemy Now, focusing on cranking out fun headbanging tunes—no more, no less. Fury continues this trend for a more groove-inflected, crunchier, and overall more memorable listen than its predecessor.” Pyre starters.

Bloodywood – Rakshak Review

By Kenstrosity on February 16, 2022 in Reviews, Deathcore, Folk Metal, Groove Metal, Melodic Metal, Nu Metal, 85 comments

“Bloodywood’s approach to metal is, on the surface, similar to Linkin Park’s in that they often combine rapped verses with sung choruses—utilizing both English and Hindi lyrics—backed by gym-ready riffs reminiscent of Hacktivist, We Butter the Bread with Butter, and even Dyscarnate. Look beneath those superficialities and you find a ton of cool Indian folk instrumentation playing along, particularly weighted towards woodwinds and festive drums.” The Rock Shack is now open.