Brand of Sacrifice
God Hand


5.0
classic

Review

by artiswar USER (16 Reviews)
May 8th, 2019 | 277 replies


Release Date: 2019 | Tracklist

Review Summary: From the carcass of a beautiful peacock rises a putrid black phoenix

Once upon a time, there was a Canadian prog-metalcore band that did not get their due. Their name was The Afterimage, and they've been melting my face since their first EP over half a decade ago. Long story short, the band crashed and burned, but not for lack of trying. Their final album EVE was a worthy farewell to their legacy but it begs the question of what went wrong. I don't have the answer to that, yet that album should have put The Afterimage squarely at the forefront of their contemporaries. Yet for whatever reason, be it piracy or weak promotion, the band called it quits and reverted to their deathcore side-project, comprised of virtually all the same members. While this may have been a mere side-venture for the group in the past, with the unfortunate collapse of their main band, Kyle Anderson and the gang have gone full throttle with this project and I commend them for this.

While The Afterimage's output has always maintained a balance of mainstream melodies and abrasive noise, clearly there is a heap of bitterness and resentment over how the band fell apart because this new album is a deep-dive into over-the-top brutality that eschews Kyle's tell-tale soaring clean vocals in favour of the filthiest gutturals and highs you can imagine. The melodic sensibilities you're used to are gone, burned away leaving only an all-out assault on the senses. Worthy of mention are The Branded which throws you to the ground and pummels, as well as Claw Marks and Beast Of Darkness which are utterly relentless in their attack.

For fans of The Afterimage, including myself, there is a hard shift here that is difficult to accept. The band was riding high, then all of a sudden they were gone, morphing back whole-sale into a side-project that resides in way more of a niche genre. It was a rather bizarre move, but once you get past the initial shell-shock, the offering here is undeniable.

This album feels like listening to The Afterimage except only the heavy parts dialed up to over 9000. While I weep over the demise of the mighty The Afterimage, I can at least dry my tears in the filthy black hole that is this album.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


BLLLLLLUUUUUUUUURRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH



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user ratings (150)
3.6
great
other reviews of this album
PrimordialSound (3.5)
A debut record that's not afraid to leaving anything off the table in pure heavy agony....



Comments:Add a Comment 
artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

The last interlude is titled After Image, HEYYY OOOOHH

Get Low
May 8th 2019


14553 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Uhhhhh, this album hasn't had an official release yet...

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

You're right, and I'm making the best of an awful situation and trying to get some eyeballs on this band since their album leaked almost 2 months in advance which is almost unheard of these days. If mods want to remove the review I support them in that. In the meantime, this album exists, go check it out and support the band however you can cause they rule and don't deserve to get shafted.

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
May 8th 2019


19009 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I didn't know Unique Leader had already released the album

mrdogthrow
May 8th 2019


2119 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Jesus a whole ass 5? Looks like I gotta take this off the backlog and listen to it today.

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Full disclosure, I hated this at first, but I'm not the biggest deathcore fan. After a few listens this grew on me hard though. And I mean HARD.

mrdogthrow
May 8th 2019


2119 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

it releases in July

Explain yourself art

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

I explained myself earlier Ninja lol. Mods can feel free to remove the review or ban me, just fucking listen to the album and support the band in the meantime lol

mrdogthrow
May 8th 2019


2119 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

my man's getting banned over a deathcore review

My hero

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

lmao



I'll take it.

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

https://www.facebook.com/brandofsacrificemetal/



purchase some merch, pls guys, I know I have. Band needs it desperately, otherwise they will go the way of The Afterimage. Give them some $$$ pls, now is the time.

artiswar
May 8th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

some sick shirts available =) goodbye guys



https://www.indiemerch.com/uniqueleader/band/brand-of-sacrifice

SitarHero
May 8th 2019


14792 Comments


I'm tempted to give this a 3.0 just to complete that ratings distribution. :D

WretchedCacophony
May 8th 2019


3262 Comments


I can often tell I wont like a band from the style of their logo. I think I checked out their last album and hated it (:

artiswar
May 9th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Please support the band guys...



This album is going to fail horrendously like EVE, it leaked WAY too early, everyone and their grandmother pirated it already and have their opinion on it, 2 WHOLE MONTHS before it's release. This is going to decimate the band who has already had a bevy of bad luck lately. At the very least buy their EP, The Interstice. It fucking rules if you have any taste for deathcore.

Get Low
May 9th 2019


14553 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Chill, bro. They're gonna be fine, lol.

artiswar
May 9th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

How do you figure? Tbh I don't expect another release from these guys any time soon, they are utterly fucked from where I'm sitting.

SteakByrnes
May 9th 2019


30382 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Novelists wasn't fucked when Noir leaked like 3 months early

Uzumaki
May 9th 2019


4649 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Wasn’t expecting them to release something so soon after The Interstice. This’ll be interesting...

artiswar
May 9th 2019


14747 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

@Steak I hated that album but are they still around after that? They built up quite a following by releasing a consistent stream of singles that were good, but they must be hurting from that leak big time. This particular situation is quite different, this is a brutal deathcore release with 0 name recognition since basically nobody realizes this is The Afterimage. Huge difference imo.



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