Review Summary: I, Colossus doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, but the technical riffs, heavy bass and lyrics are enough to set them apart from the average deathcore band.
In today’s deathcore scene, there are a lot of bands that sound exactly alike. One reason for this is that almost all deathcore bands incorporate breakdowns and bass drops into their songs. A Different Breed Of Killer don’t really break away from this, but they do it well enough to stand out in the crowd among other deathcore bands. While I, Colossus isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, it’s done better than most deathcore. The album is full of technical riffs, heavy breakdowns, and other things that set them apart from other deathcore bands.
The guitar is one of the highlights of the album. There is an array of technical riffs all throughout. Although most of the riffs are solid, there are a few generic chugging riffs that you hear from deathcore bands all the time. Even though these riffs are somewhat generic, they are placed in the song well, so it usually doesn’t detract from the song much. One thing that A Different Breed Of Killer can definitely do well is a breakdown. The breakdowns on this album are really heavy, and most importantly they are not overdone. There is generally one breakdown per song, which is good because if they put more it would get a bit repetitive.
Without a doubt, one of the best things about I, Colossus is the bass. Believe it or not, you can actually hear it. A very common problem with deathcore bands is that the bass gets buried in the mix and its either very hard to hear or just completely inaudible. The bass is nice and loud on this album which gives the guitar an overall heavier sound.
The drums on I, Colossus are particularly intense. Tons of crazy fills, blast beats, and double bass. The blast beats are used sparingly, which is good because they can become obnoxious when overused. The drums have an overall solid sound, particularly the bass drum. The intense drumming really adds to each song.
The vocals are pretty straight forward for the genre. However, the vocalist has particularly good lows which mix well with the instrumentals. The high vocals are solid, but really aren’t anything special. There are also some decent sounding gang vocals every now and then, like in “The Accidentist.” There is a guest appearance by Phil Bozeman of
Whitechapel on the song “The Cleansing Apparatus” and his vocals fit right in with the heavy instrumentals in I, Colossus. The lyrics in the album are another high point. I, Colossus is a concept album, and the lyrics tell the story of a man who is part of a genetic experiment that goes wrong. He spends 20 years in solitude and decides to seek vengeance on the world. The lyrics really do the story justice. “I will die by my own blood drenched hands, my departure will be the end of this clockwork holocaust” Lines like this one from The Glorious Fall do a fantastic job of describing the man’s vengeance upon the world.
Overall, I, Colossus is a very solid album. It has technical riffs, crushingly heavy breakdowns and bass and fantastic lyrics and vocals. The album is mixed well, and the bass is nice and loud. However, they really don’t bring anything new to the genre of deathcore instrumentally. Even though the riffs for the most part aren’t really groundbreaking, they are done well, and the fact that it is a concept album brings some originality because that isn’t something common in deathcore. I, Colossus is a very fun listen for deathcore fans, and even fans of technical death metal who don’t mind a few breakdowns.
