Review Summary: The Famine retain familiarity, with a twist
Throughout the lifespan of a band, odds are that it will go through some change; be it musically, member changes, or a million other possibilities. Many bands change from album to album, and The Famine is no exception with their latest musical offering, entitled
Architects of Guilt.
The band’s latest work, their first since original vocalist Kris McCaddon was replaced by Bassist Nick Nowell, is different from their debut,
The Raven and the Reaping, but yet retains a sense of familiarity of The Famine’s sound. The band retains their style of fast, heavy, pummeling metal, but
Architects of Guilt removes those small traces of Southern Metal sound found on The Raven and replaces them with styling’s more toward Death Metal.
The biggest evidence of this change is the sound of the vocalists. While McCaddon had a very raspy yet harsh vocal styling, Nowell comes at the listener with a high shriek and low growl that adds nice diversity to that aspect of the music. The new vocal style lends a new feel to the instrumental side of the album, which has been improved on
Architects...
The guitarists still throw out fast riff after fast riff, and listeners of the debut album will recognize a similar feel to the guitar work, but closer listening reveals improvement and variety on the band’s latest fare. Solos have been put into this album, such as at the 2:26 mark of Ad Mortem and the 2:37 mark of Pyrithion Place, among others. There is also a more varied assortment of riffs, including some tremolo picking. The most improved area of Architects of Guilt though, is the drumming. Drummer Mark Garza really puts on a show with some fine drum work, which is even more intense and frantic then on
The Raven and the Reaping. Tracks like Turner Classic Diaries and A Fragile Peace are just two examples of the assortment of fills and techniques that Garza uses on this album.
Although this album is an improvement on
The Raven and the Reaping, it still suffers from the same flaw that hindered that album: repetition. Although each song on this album has it’s own feel and assortment of musical differences, the majority of the album just seems to blend together. The rapid pacing and similar structure tends to make it tough to really decipher individual songs, and this hampers what could have been a very good album.
I see
Architects of Guilt as a progression for The Famine; a progression that I feel is a good one. This album takes the heaviness of the last one, turns the dial up a few twists, and keeps on pounding away. This is an enjoyable album for fans of the band, and also fans of this style of Metalcore. If you’re looking for a newer release to check out,
Architects of Guilt should satisfy you.
