Review Summary: For an absolutely stupid band name, Slice the Cake manages to make some damn heavy music.
If you can forgive the incredibly stupid name, Slice the Cake proves to be surprisingly adept at writing heavy as hell music. The group is unique in that all members aren't from different states, but different countries altogether. The group is three members big, with one being from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden, and the other from Australia, but each one presents a surprising amount of talent for such a geographic disparity.
Cleansed opens up with “Introduction,” which starts out quietly at first before lurching into a stellar breakdown, complete with unique riffs and heavy drums, it serves as a decent intro. Then the song cleanly transitions into "Squander," which starts out with an amazing solo before the vocalist bursts in.
I don't know what it is about the vocalist, but his deep growl is probably the smoothest one I have ever heard. In terms of tone, I want to say it closely resembles Michael Akerfeldt's, without as much growl in it. (In before anyone says I hate them, but I adore Akerfeldt's vocals.) This accompanied by the trailblazing drums provides an intense as hell opener to the song, and the rest of the song and album continues in the same vein. Midway through "Squander," the vocalist attempts this brand of clean vocals. To be fair, they don't really work well, almost coming off a little bit whiny. This rather bad cut in eventually reverts back to the usual stop start riffage of the rest of the song to thankfully bring back the intensity.
The title track is quite intense here as well, and features no clean passages at all. In fact, this is definitely the fastest song of the entire EP, and services just fine. The first couple seconds use this skipped record effect which makes the guitars sound so much cooler when they finally burst in. The rest of the song continues the relentless pace of the drums, and the vocalist uses this cool hybrid between a low and high scream that manages to sound absolutely intense. In between the stop-start sections of the song, the vocalist uses this hardcore shouting type effect that fits well within the song.
"Race of Roses" has to be the best of the entire EP, starting with an incredibly generic breakdown at the start. It's heavy to be sure, but nothing numerous other deathcore acts haven't attempted. Eventually the song breaks away from this trend and goes forward with lightning fast guitars and an intense drumming section. Then it goes back to a breakdown. Then fast again. The overall effect is so satisfyingly intense that it's actually proven to be one of the few times a generic breakdown has been used properly. Then near the end the song ends with a cleanly sung passage, a hardcore shout session, and a quick violin interlude.
Again, if you can get past the ridiculous band name, you will find that this band does manage to provide a surprising amount of intensity. The vocals on here have a decent range and do a fantastic job of maintaining the intensity for the whole of the EP. Drumming is unashamedly fast, which is totally fine considering the intensity that the songs try to go for. Guitars aren't prominently featured here, though they certainly do play their part with both the breakdowns and the stop-start sections. They're not insanely technical, but one can tell that they have talent; they just need to be put to proper use. Oh! I almost forgot, but the band has this crazy as hell Bonus track at the end that is just so mind-bendingly ***ed up, you have to hear it. I don't want to review it completely, but the song goes from a fast as hell intro, to a carnival jazz sound while the vocalist seems to be making suggestive sounds, before going into an electronica club beat with the vocalist saying random gibberish before saying "*** OooOoooFFFFFffff" (Yes, it does sound like that.) Go listen to this band, even if you detest this kind of music, just so you can hear this ending. It truly did make me laugh out loud.
