Review Summary: An overlooked metalcore masterpiece.
On August 2, 216 BC took place one of the most iconic encounters in the history of warfare. At the height of the Second Punic War, as Hannibal was plundering Italy, Rome amassed an army of nearly 90,000 to fend him off. All for nothing – the much less numerous Carthaginians dragged the opponents into an encirclement and turned the clash into carnage. They haven’t made any moves of such magnitude again and were quickly snuffed when Rome went on for retaliation years later, but that one battle ensured them a fixed spot in human consciousness for the centuries to come.
One could picture a vague parallel between the Battle of Cannae and the metalcore band named after it. Cannae existed for a relatively short time and completely disappeared after several years, but their output was nothing short of an onslaught.
Gold Becomes Sacrifice operates under the banners of metalcore, melodic death metal and thrash, thriving on a perfect blend of melody and relentlessness. The album is filled with memorable guitar leads gliding over the rhythm section, deployed side-to-side with breakneck grooves and crushing breakdowns. Interestingly, the guitars manage to build a conventional sense of appeal despite being strangely dissonant, which is most noticeable in the solos. They sound abrasive and at times even atonal, yet maintain clear melodic directions and distinct personalities – furious, epic or otherwise. All that is coupled with powerful mid-range screams that serve as the final augmentation to the record’s heaviness.
The band wastes no time before the first strike, immediately unleashing their force with
Rats, Snakes and Thieves. The bulk of the track is formed by rapidly marching grooves, with relentless aggression and vocal versatility on full display. What follows is a particularly great guitar solo – energetic, very dynamic and satisfyingly reminiscent of the 80’s speed/thrash metal. The later cuts carry the momentum, albeit in a more melodic fashion.
Marked by Monuments is a highlight in this respect – low, catchy riffs and menacing rhythms lead to a dissonant fade-out, and later to a clashing acoustic interlude. The album’s melodic wing takes the lead towards the end with
Bastinado and
Fear and Panic. The former, dealing with trauma and sharing name with a torture method, is fittingly full of rage. But then comes the beautiful, high-pitched solo imprinted with genuine sadness, as if we’ve been transported to an entirely different song… before being violently dragged back as the rage hits again. On the other hand,
Fear and Panic maintains a consistent attitude throughout its five-minute runtime – epic, aggressive and armed with a quite strange solo that wouldn’t feel out of place on an avant-garde recording. The production values of
Gold Becomes Sacrifice are also worth a few words. The sound possesses a noticeable depth and becomes even more engaging when vocal layering and/or echo effects are applied, like in the eerie breakdown halfway through
Indemnity.
Although there are times when it simply drags, Cannae’s third and final album is a stunning effort. While their contemporaries and labelmates like Lamb of God and All That Remains far outran them in the power race, in terms of sheer musical quality, the competition was
at least even. Despite this potential, the band never gained widespread recognition and presumably disassembled sometime after 2005. Unfortunately, because under different circumstances, I believe they could’ve achieved even more.
