Review Summary: I will hate you forever
I love metalcore. I can't get enough of it. I love the genre so much I have a tattoo on my back in cursive, rainbow curve spread layout in old english that reads "Early to Mid 2000's". I miss these times a bunch. In fact, I still revisit all of my favorite metalcore bands on a weekly basis. Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, Underoath etc. have made a gigantic impact on my life and I wouldn't want it any other way. Granted, there are very few bands within this genre that hold water their entire career if not disbanded. Sadly, this band is no more. What they did with this album is remarkable for the time. In 2005 this was a really rare gem. Hard to come by. This was the year YouTube was created, Sigur Rós released Takk... and of course hurricane Katrina. 2005 will always be remembered for many things but
Asylum Of The Human Predator has seemed to slip through the silk this year and many years to come.
Formerly known as
Twytch, Matt McChesney decided to change the band name and write about something personal. Hailing from Massachusetts, Hell Within wanted to break out and make their name.
Shadows Fall, within the area, were already known at this time and I do firmly believe Matt wanted to do something great to prove his worth. Don't quote me on that, just speculation. Well you have
Shadows Fall from Massachusetts in the late 90's,
Twytch formed in 1998 as what would become
Hell Within. No clue if
Shadows Fall inspired anyone in the band, but it seems likely. They sound nothing alike but I get the same vibe from
Of One Blood and
Asylum Of The Human Predator without thinking about it.
I stumbled on this album in late 2006 by accident. I was at the music store and saw the disc and the album cover didn't appeal to me at all, nor the band name. I read the song titles on the back of the disc and felt like I should just buy it, I mean it was only $15 why not? First play was something special for sure, I will never forget that day in my Pontiac Grad Prix driving home with that disc in my CD player. It clicked right off the bat. But it also clicks to me more today than ever. This is personal and I get it now. I mean, when I was in my late 20's this was just a "headbanger show my friends this band" type thing, now I understand what he was going through. Heart destroyed. Can confirm.
They went to the studio and recorded this in 3 days. The final product is great. Metalcore vocalists are a dime a dozen for sure, but Matt has a unique vocal approach in his delivery here and the band backs him with superb and catchy riffs. The production is great for 2005, honestly one of the best sounding metalcore albums I have ever heard to date.
Check this out if you have ever been fucked over or just love metalcore at its finest, you won't be disappointed.
