Review Summary: Sovereignty is consistent, enjoyable, and powerful. If you passed this band up after listening to Damnation, it would be well worth taking another look.
Formed in 2007, Resist the Thought are a band that have made their name known amongst the death metal / deathcore scene of Australia, supporting international acts such as Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish and the Acacia Strain on multiple Australian tours. The band traveled to the United States to record their sophomore album Sovereignty with reputed producer Dan Castleman (As I Lay Dying, Impending Doom).
Resist The Thought is:
Rhys Giles - Vocals
Conor Ward- Drums
Tim Aaron- Guitar
Mitchell Fairall- Bass
Sovereignty is a barrage of fast metal-riffs, breakdowns and powerful vocals. While only a short album clocking in barely over 30 minutes it leaves very little to be desired. Upon hearing the album one will notice that the production is far superior to their debut release Damnation, the guitar tone is much clearer and the drums sound faster and far more natural. The vocals retain their unique raspy inhale sound but at the same time have improved on all fronts, the clarity and pronunciation are much better that Damnation, and the vocalist rarely sounds like he's out of breath, which was an often occurrence on the previous album. The bass is inaudible, but that is something that most of us have grown used to.
Sovereignty begins with "Legion" "Pledge of Aversion" and "Extermination". All three of which contain the merits that were previously mentioned, "Legion" is one of the longer tracks on the album yet doesn't let up in speed whatsoever. "Pledge of Aversion" follows a similar route with the exception of an included guest vocalist Eddie Hermina of All Shall Perish, his vocals add nice contrast as he yells the lines "We share the same blood! We share the same flesh yet they forsake us for a few ***ing cents!". "Extermination" is one of the weaker songs on the album, not because it is a bad song, it merely lacks what nearly all the others have and opts to follow a more 'chuggy' route.
Something that is also noticeable is the lyrical content, instead of generic death metal / core lines about murder, genocide and hate, the album contains that of social critique. Lyrics are highly critical of society, monarchs, governments and corruption. It's most definitely a nice change to have vocals with meaning behind them.
The album continues in the same fashion as the previous tracks, the structure is similar, fast intro riff, minor breakdown, fast riff, big breakdown. As we all know, breakdowns can make or break (no pun intended) a band, what makes this album great instead of generic is that the band executes this structure very well, consistency without repetition.
"Resurrect the Reaper" is a track worth mentioning. It was put on Youtube over 6 months prior to the release of the album and is what no doubt reached many new fans. It features guest vocals from CJ Mcmahon from Thy Art is Murder, a well known name in Australian deathcore, it also ends with a very nice solo."Sermon of the Damned" is nothing to write home about, it bares much resemblance to "Extermination" which, as mentioned before is one of the weaker tracks. "Warbound" doesn't fall into this trap however, it's fast, fun and powerful, which is what Resist the Thought seem to do very well.
Up comes the title track "Sovereignty" and it truly epitomizes what makes this album so great. It begins fast, the fastest song on the album actually and does not let up. From a lyrical standpoint it is also their best, with lines such as "Unhallowed rulers of society, faceless fiends leading us blindly into slavery!" surely to be remembered by listeners. The song also contains one of the best and most unexpected guitar solos, with an absence of an obvious breakdown, this is truly a shining song.
While Resist the Thought follow largely in the footsteps of All Shall Perish, they bring their own uniqueness to the table, the songs tend to bleed together but they don't ever come across as repetitive. Though short, the album is consistent throughout leaving you satisfied, and will no doubt be left in CD players and on Ipod playlists for many months to come.
