Review Summary: Their greatest trait is also the cause of their eventual downfall.
Too Many Humans could be summed up with just a few words and most people would know whether or not to listen to it – those words are technical death metal and deathcore. We could take things a bit further by saying that these guys don’t play the same type of wildly technical death metal as
Gorod or
Obscura – the deathcore influence almost negates that possibility. On the other hand, they also don’t play the same hundred-breakdowns-a-song deathcore as a lot of other bands out there. So, where does that leave The Last Felony? It leaves them firmly in the middle without any real identity of their own. Quite simply, The Last Felony specialize in stringing together endless death metal riffs at breakneck speeds interspersed with the occasional breakdown, and not much else. As could be imagined, this basic blueprint results in an album that blurs together without a lot of significant differences between each track, but it also turns out to still be entertaining in short spurts.
The entertainment value is found in the sheer amount of great riffs that seem to be in endless supply. Granted, they’re nothing out of the ordinary, but their lack of originality is made up for by the pure chaotic energy in which they’re delivered. These heavy riffs are complimented by deep growls that are occasionally accentuated by higher pitched shrieks – a delivery that turns the vocals into another rhythm instrument that returns the emphasis to the riffs. If this description makes the album sound like it could be a pretty mindless experience, it’s because it is. The riffs seem to just blur by in a series of abrupt transitions that lack any real direction. In fact, if it wasn’t for the slight pause between songs there would be absolutely no way of knowing when or if a song had ever ended – again, the band aren’t going to be known for their diversity or innovation. What they are going to be known for is their balls-out aggression and endless supply of riffs. Of course, such a limited appeal is also this album’s glaring weakness. A series of two or three tracks are great and entirely enjoyable, but anything thereafter begins to feel redundant and totally indistinguishable. It’s a catch-22 that their strongest trait is also their eventual downfall, as well.
The Last Felony are in the unenviable position of having an awesome collection of songs that don’t actually work as a collection. Individually every one of these songs is great, but they eventually lose their power due to the total one-dimensional approach of the album as a whole. Whether or not that sounds like a deal-breaker will be up to individual tastes, but it must be said that in small doses the songs are entirely enjoyable due to huge riffs and an unrelenting aggression that should get anyone pumped.
