Review Summary: A Good Healthy Dose of Nihilistic Deathcore
"The Depression Sessions"
Despite the laughable title, this EP was an early Christmas, for fans of the genre. It's a six song gem from deathcore bands "The Acacia Strain", "Thy art is Murder", and "Fit For an Autopsy", the first two I listen to quite consistently. It has three original tracks, one from each of the artists involved, and 3 covers, one from each as well. And make no mistake; for a deathcore release this album is ***ing banging.
The EP seemed to come out of nowhere; Thy Art released the music video for "They Will Know Another", and came out talking about an EP with a few other bands that CJ McMahon was sticking around for. It's old news that the frontman of "Thy Art is Murder" was leaving the band, and I don't think I was the only one a bit bitter from that. His vocals are amongst the best of the genre; TAIM's "Hate" and "Holy War", their most recent and only efforts with CJ are some of my favorite deathcore records. So TAIM's tracks on this EP are bitter sweet, getting one last bit of Thy Art in their most polished form.
So put simply, this EP is damn good. It's a totally unique direction for the genre. All the new tracks are deeply emotional, driven by passion, and executed in a perfect way. It's emotional as hell, but its presented in a way that's not quite bitchy enough to be up to par with the lyrical content of bands like Motionless in White or A Day to Remember. The tracks have real drive behind them, not your typical 'don't ***ing judge me' or 'Christianity sucks'. The songs are sad, and nihilistic, with themes of suicide and environmental destruction, but the bands here are handling it maturely. "The Acacia's Strain"s track was extremely familiar, "Sensory Deprivation". they keep their reputation of "Master's of Negativity" on the pedestal; it's very reminiscent of their tone and feel of 2012's "Death is the Only Mortal". And though I don't actively listen to "Fit For an Autopsy", I was extremely impressed with their track "Flatlining". And addressing the ugly ***ing elephant in the room, their is not an overabundance and reliance on breakdowns. "They Will Know Another" relies on the crescendo-like build up and break; very similar to their title track on "Holy War", "Sensory Deprivation" chugs all the way through with that trademark TAS drive, and "Flatlining" is led by a soaring lead guitar riff. The tracks are varied, and executed very tastefully.
Now the second half of the EP; the covers. Thy Art covers "Rammstein's" "Du Hast", and its ***ing awesome. A few years ago "Motionless in White" covered the same track on one of those terrible "Punk goes Pop" records, and so Thy Art's adaption was a healthy revivification for the track after MIW's mess of a cover. "The Acacia Strain" covers "Black Hole Sun," and saying it caught me off guard would be an understatement. Frontman Vincent Bennett handles the vocals differently. Of course there's his nasally groans throughout, but there's a good bit of almost clean vocals, something you don't hear much with TAS. Again, I'm not too familiar with "Fit For an Autopsy," but their cover of "The Perfect Drug," by "Nine Inch Nails" serves as a powerful closing to the EP, and is done just as tastefully as the other couple of cover tracks.
"The Depression Sessions" serves its purpose; an emotional bit of metal, and a goodbye to Thy Art as it has been for years. A damn good bit of deathcore, and ends all together to quick. Check it out.
