Review Summary: If It Ain't Broke Blast Beat The Fuck Out of It
Let's start off by saying that this is a definitive step above Malevolence and does not suffer from complete and utter repetition that its predecessor did. This self-titled release also possesses something the previous album did not which is atmosphere, through out the multiple listens I couldn't help but feel this album would be what the apocalypse would sound like, absolutely devastating while maintaining an overall eerie feel. A great example of this would be track 6 Final Hour which shows the great atmosphere that is retained throughout the album. The same can be said for the breakdown in the beginning of track 8 Pale Skin which has this just creepy lead guitar.
Additionally the album has quite a few memorable moments whether it be the opening of Misery cloud "THEY CAME THEY ***ING CONQUERED" or the "ICED ***ING EARTH" the main hook in track 3 Human Waste. An aspect of the band that really made these standout moments for me is the new vocalist who sounds like a mix between Oceano and Molotov Solution. The vocalists voice just sounds absolutely monstrous and has this undeniably massive sound. However if there is any complaint I have about the vocalist is that he tends to not deviate from his low to mid ranges, not to say that he is a bad vocalist, just that the vocals could have used a bit more variety when it came to range.
Before I forget, I need to mention that the instrumentation on this album is really top notch and there's not to much for me to complain about. For the most part the band is spot on. The drums have a great sound to them and are very crisp I can always hear the drums in any track, but at the same time they don't drown out any other instruments or vocals. The guitars are heavy and have the typical I Declare War sound, but at times can be excessively chuggy which I don't mind that much. And for the bassist well he's there and let's just leave it at that.
This album doesn't do anything to reinvent deathcore, but It does do a lot things right. If you are a deathcore fan your probably going to like or even love this album. If you're not a fan of deathcore your probably just going to think this is a fairly average release.
