Daath
The Hinderers


4.0
excellent

Review

by Gmaj USER (30 Reviews)
March 31st, 2007 | 45 replies


Release Date: 2007 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Atlanta's industrial/melodic/technical death metal newcomers release one hell of a Roadrunner debut.

Not since the debut of technical death metal titans such as Atheist and Cynic has this most heavy of heavy metal subgenres experienced such an evolution. Barring the explosion of the melodic sound of the Gothenburg scene a decade ago, Daath and a few of their experimental contemporaries have given the notoriously polarized death metal scene a significant facelift. This Atlanta, Georgia sextet is making particularly large strides towards this evolution with its Roadrunner debut The Hinderers.

While many newer death metal bands have tried to take the genre back to its brutal "old school" roots (i.e. death metal supergroup Bloodbath), Daath have instead taken the more intelligent approach to writing their music, opting to write refined, melodic riffs and to inject an industrialized, electronic sound into the background of the brilliantly composed tracks.

Every song on The Hinderers plays like a schizophrenic overview of the last fifteen years of death metal history; melodic leads and refined death growls fearlessly collide with vicious blastbeats and intricate, virtuosic solos. Vocalist Sean Faber's delivery is of particular importance, as he channels Jeff Walker circa Heartwork era Carcass and gives one of the best death metal vocal performances on a major label debut ever.

The flawless production of death metal legend James Murphy – who played lead guitar on Obituary's landmark Cause of Death album and also briefly played with genre originators Death – doesn't hurt either. James' other contributions to the album in the forms of his exquisite soloing and his pristine addition of electronics on strange but intriguing tracks like "Cosmic Forge" and "Dead on the Dance Floor" make The Hinderers stand as a shining release in what will be another great year for heavy music.

If only timing was more on Daath's side. With all of the other great albums being released later this year by established names such as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Neurosis, the promising newcomers could be left at the back of the heavy music herd by the year's end. It would be a shame to see such a great up-and-coming act be overshadowed, so hopefully this release will make enough noise to rise up against the big name releases coming this year. If Daath is in fact the next iteration of death metal, then the kids are most certainly alright.



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user ratings (171)
3.3
great
other reviews of this album
enslaved1896 (4)
Daath is one of the more promising new acts on the much-maligned Roadrunner label. They show true in...

Phil (2.5)
Comprised mainly with semi-coherent growls, technical guitar solos and blast-beats on the drum, this...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Tarantino's Tarantulas
March 31st 2007


819 Comments


I had the opportunity of seeing these guys open for Unearth a couple of nights ago but I decided against it as Im short on money. Ive heard the two songs on their Myspace and saw the video of Subterfuge (I think) on Headbanger's Ball, all of which were very interesting. Video was strange to say the least with that Aquaman thing in it. :lol:

Your review is good but a bit sparse on detail, e.g. you don't say much about any of the band except Faber and Murphy, and it wouldn't hurt to recommend which tracks are best. However, you still get my vote.

Abaddon2005
March 31st 2007


684 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Decent review, I think you give this too much credit. You could have went into a little more detail about the music. I might review this.

Confessed2005
March 31st 2007


5561 Comments


Tarantino's did you go to Portsmouth Pyramids to see either Mastodon with Saviours or Job For A Cowboy with Cephalic Carnage?

I am definitely going to check these guys out. They sound interesting.

ValiumMan
March 31st 2007


493 Comments


Haven't heard of these guys. Your review was good. A bit on the short side, but it gave me a nice notion of what the album sounds like. Sounds like the sort of music that I basically like, but gives me headaches (I just can't deal with fast speeds very well for some reason).
BTW: If these guys and the band Vader recorded a collab (or split) album, they could call themselves Daath Vader and it'd be hilarious to no end. Well, actually not, but whatever.

Thor
March 31st 2007


10354 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I actually just heard these guys the other day and thought they were pretty promising. I might look into this album in the near future.

Tarantino's Tarantulas
March 31st 2007


819 Comments


Tarantino's did you go to Portsmouth Pyramids to see either Mastodon with Saviours or Job For A Cowboy with Cephalic Carnage?

I was at the former but not the latter. I was also at Opeth at the Pyramids November 2006.

Tyler
Emeritus
March 31st 2007


7927 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Good review. I was supposed to review this before it came out, but got pretty bored.



It's a decent album, fairly original and definitely mass marketable. Subterfuge is an outstanding song too.

Wizard
March 31st 2007


20510 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

What a great review, short and sweet and to the point. Unfortunately I feel these guys have nothing new to offer. They feel like they just bluntly ripped off every other metal artist over the last 5 years. I will listen to them again and hopefully, will change my mind for the better.

Apocalypticon
April 1st 2007


22 Comments


Good review. I haven't actually heard the album, so this might not be true, but I think you are over hyping the album just alittle bit.

chimera908
April 2nd 2007


713 Comments


This band and album has me extremely interested and I plan on checking it out soon. Great review too, got your point across fast and effectively.

jrowa001
April 2nd 2007


8752 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

i just got this album. so far i like it, but im questioning its replay value. the instrumentals are pretty solid but the vocals are nothing spectacular

violentmog
April 3rd 2007


74 Comments


Hmm, seems kind of interesting.

Stalusk
April 4th 2007


130 Comments


They have a big sound, wonder how they go live.....

Gmaj
April 9th 2007


30 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks for all the feedback! I wrote this review for Crave Magazine, so it had to be kinda short and to the point. I'm still digging this CD a ton, especially since it's the first disc by a new death metal band that Roadrunner has released in almost a decade. I'm excited to see what they release in the future, although I think they're getting a little ahead of themselves by planning to release 13 albums of material pertaining to Kabalah. Oh well, we'll see...

Mikesn
Emeritus
April 23rd 2007


3707 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Not bad at all. I might review this.





Good job.

Abaddon2005
April 23rd 2007


684 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

me too! :snarl:

Detox
April 26th 2007


8 Comments


I just saw the video for Subterfuge and i really enjoyed it, its going to be really sweet seeing them at ozzfest.....in the video he looks like hes going to pop a blood vessel in his neck or forehead.

Stalin132
April 26th 2007


3 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Even though the music is short of anything groundbreaking, I still found it to be very entertaining to listen to. The album is really well rounded and is easy to listen to from beginning to end. Hopefully their consistency will stay with them from album to album.

OhMyGandhi
June 15th 2007


101 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

a couple of songs are pretty good, but others seem sooo out of place and just bad....Subterfuge, Ovum, and From the Blind are all pretty good.This Message Edited On 06.14.07

OhMyGandhi
June 15th 2007


101 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

really? didnt know that...i dont really like him though...



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