It’s becoming apparent that our filtering systems work quite well! The crew has done a fine job pulling filth from the workings and releasing the pressure to the system. A second too late and the toilets would have backed up.
Killswitch Engage
Sinheresy – Event Horizon Review
“I know what you’re thinking. That cover, those outfits, the absolutely killer orange-tinted glasses—they must be Italian. And it’s-a true, the members of Sinheresy hail from Trieste, which technically, in its annexed sliver, flies il Tricolore all the same. Also technically, Sinheresy plays metal, albeit in a variety that resembles the anthemic sympho-ish bounce of Olzon-era Nightwish smattered about with Björiffs to provide a kind of glossy crust.” Sinners bleed orange.
Royal Deceit – Ill Review
“Royalty and Roman numerals. It was for these reasons that I chose III by Royal Deceit for review from the pit of despair where other promos reside. Metalcore with delusions of grandeur? Count me in! Sadly I was misled; III is actually Ill. Rather than deluded grandeur, I would be analyzing ailments.” Turn your head and core.
Oceanhoarse – Heads Will Roll Review
“Heads Will Roll sounds like an idea sparked after a rekindling of enjoyment for In Flamesߵ infamous Reroute to Remain. Now that’s a hoarse of a different color. Defend whatever album you want, but In Flames at their most alternative and least melodeath is not the act you’d expect to see aped in 2023—even In Flames agrees. Yet, here we are, Oceanhoarse in full Björiff meets Breaking Benjamin territory, partying like an 80s arena rock hero got stuck in Sounds of a Playground Fading.” Old flames.
Lybica – Lybica Review
“First and foremost, and this should come as no surprise to any of you… but this wins Cover o’ the Year for me. Hands down, no competition. Sure, you’ve got your Eliran Kantors, your Travis Smiths, and your Necrolords. And that’s all fine and dandy. But here, we have a proud, majestic cat with its tongue out, as if to say, “I’m here, world… and I shall blep.” It’s only fitting, then, that Lybica, the South Floridian instrumental band featuring Killswitch Engage’s Justin Foley and members of Gravel Kings, would name themselves after the African wildcat species often referenced as the godfather to the modern-day domesticated cat.” Cats in the belfry.
Ghost in the Ruins – Return to Ash Review
“Ghost in the Ruins is a metalcore band from North Carolina, born from the ashes of Further the Fall, debut full-length Return to Ash making a wrecking ball to eardrums everywhere. Taking cues from the glory days of metalcore, expect galloping breakdowns, dueling melodic axe work, and vicious vocals galore.” Children of the core.
Pathfinders – Ares Vallis Review
“Pathfinders’ sound is a robotic casing of groove metal which houses a metalcore rover that it uses to explore expansive concepts of the infinite. The metalcore tag can be a poisonous one in these parts, so let’s be clear straight off the bat: Pathfinders is more Killswitch Engage and less Zao. More djent and less prog. This is your high-school chewing-gum metalcore, back when Linkin Park seemed edgy. This will be deal-breaker for some, and if you are one of those folks who can’t stand the sound, I bid you farewell and Godspeed as you take the escape pod on your journey to the next review.” Explore-core.
Synthetic – Clepsydra: Time Against Infinity Review
“Well, the promo claimed Clepsydra to be symphonic progressive metal, which did not fill me with hope. Thankfully, this claim was wrong. It’s not very symphonic; it just overuses keyboards a lot. It admittedly has that in common with actual symphonic bands, but at least the synths in Synthetic are more earnest in their synthetic sound rather than trying and failing to imitate an actual orchestra. Nor is this record very progressive at all; most of the songs have a basic verse-chorus structure and rely on direct hooks of a pretty tried and true style. The style in question is more along the lines of metalcore and melodic death, winding up somewhere in between Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and In Flames, just with a lot more keyboards.” Corephobia.
Viscera – Obsidian Review
“In Hollywood, there’s a phenomenon called ‘twin films.’ Sometimes movies released around the same time have an uncannily similar plot, even though they’ve been in production around the same time and couldn’t have copied one another. A few well-known examples include Armageddon and Deep Impact, Antz and A Bug’s Life, and The Prestige and The Illusionist. Now, considering the frequency of release and inherent similarities, this isn’t really a thing in metal, but it still gave me pause when I noticed I was about to go through the second Unique Leader techy deathcore release with wav format tracks in just a handful of weeks.” Guts check.
Neaera – Neaera Review
“No matter how hard you try, you can never really escape your past. By day I’m the kvltest of the kvlt, blasting the blakkened fukkin death while wearing a shirt that depicts Jesus getting flogged by a horde of goat demons. But when I curl up at night with my plesiosaurus plush, I know at heart I’m still the same mid-aughts core kid who got his start in the metal world with Killswitch Engage and their ilk. Even today, when the promo teat runs dry, sometimes I find myself returning to where it all began: core.” Damn core kids!
