Review Summary: inb4 Snatch references.
There are bands that have one particular instrument that stick out, particularly deathcore. For groups like Within the Ruins, it's guitar, and melodies and rhythms abide. For groups like Abiotic, it is a rare occurrence that the bass guitar sticks out as the most prominent component, rumbling and noodling about the music. For Boris the Blade, in their first full-length, "The Human Hive", it's drums. This five-piece deathcore group hails from Australia, home to a plethora of other prominent groups of the same genre: Thy Art Is Murder, Resist the Thought, Signal the Firing Squad, Aversions Crown, and others. While they bring nothing new to the table, their 2014 release stands as deathcore done right, with crushing breakdowns, matching vocals, eerie melodies, and, as aforementioned, excellent drums. While it will not change your mind about the genre's relevance, it serves as a fun and heavy listen.
Right off the bat, "Serpents Crown" brings in BtB's defining factor: powerful drums. The snare tone is punchy, sharp, and heavy, adding a well-needed oomph to the instrumentals, which carries through the entire album. Thankfully, much like many other Australian deathcore groups, these guys typically avoid the down-tempo chugs and brutality focus of American acts such as Oceano or I Declare War, opting for a more energetic and accessible sound. The guitarists are nothing immensely technical or complicated, the bass is inaudible, and the vocals are pretty good. This all down on paper seems generic and nothing particularly standoutish, but the combination is surprisingly fun and aggressively heavy, due to clear songwriting and smooth transitions.
One reason genre-mates Whitechapel's 2008 album "This Is Exile" worked so well and served as a standout achievement in the modern deathcore scene (which could mean very little, depending on your taste) is due to an advanced songwriting ability, and Boris the Blade harnesses that for "The Human Hive's" benefit. The way they transition from breakdowns to blastbeats to riffs to eerily melodic moments is worthy of mention, as these guys have clearly put thought into their songs instead of mindlessly breaking down after breaking down. For instance, "Mortal Procession" has a breakdown utilizing harmonics and an almost djenty tone, "Desolation" focuses solely on the eerie melodies, "Malevolent" focuses on the atmosphere and gives an excellently dark ambient introduction, "Eulogy" focuses on an almost tribal quality with its distant chanting and tremolo riffing, and title track focuses on odd rhythms and a briefly bright melodic moment, adding contrast to the overall dark and crushing picture.
Boris the Blade holds an interesting premise for "The Human Hive", the title painting a picture of humanity as a beehive of droning mindlessness and chaos. Their lyrics focus unfortunately unoriginally on this concept of misanthropy, rot, and critiques of religion and society, with lyrical musings such as: "We are vermin, spat from the womb of Mother Earth, a walking miscarriage of flesh and bone... This earth will rot to its core, a daunting retrospective of your beliefs. There will be no rapture, no salvation; only eternal rot" ("Mortal Procession"); "Your beauty shall rot when suns shall fall, reduced to this earth for eternity" ("Malevolent"). Thus, there is nothing particularly standout about the lyrics, as they focus on much of what other deathcore groups do: hate for things and destruction.
This is an album of standout songs, not a linear concept album or something that requires much concentration. Songs such as the aforementioned "Mortal Procession", "Desolation", "Eulogy", and the title track, work quite well, showcasing passion and energy and effective songwriting. However, there are blatantly negative tracks, such as the sloppy "Spawn of Agony" and the uninteresting and redundant "Eternal Ruin." Also, "Malevolent", although initially interesting, is far too long for a decent deathcore track and the vocalist's pig squeals are out of place and unnecessary. Also, although it is a brief listen, at 34 minutes, the breakdowns and brutality is likely to wear thin and the punch loses impact.
As aforementioned, this album will not change your mind about deathcore. It has breakdowns galore, Cookie Monster vocals, misanthropic lyrics, and powerful drums. But to those who are interested in an aggressive and punchy release, look no further--Boris the Blade has it for you.
