So in the immediate aftermath of Christmas, I received a large amount of CDs. Most of these came from 641distro, who had a massive 60% off everything sale for the holiday season. I also got a few CDs through orders on Discogs in addition to picking a couple up at a recent trip to Redscroll Records in Wallingford. Since it had been a while since I had a fat stack of CDs to go through, I figured I would make another big haul post going over what I got and quickly reviewing every release.
Held Under - The Catastrophe of Creation
Okay, so I saw this on the 641distro site and couldn't find any info on the band or any of their songs. Judging by what I was able to find, I knew it would be metalcore and figured it would be either shitty scene-core or maybe semi-decent Myspace deathcore since it came out in 2006. but I couldn't find a review or a sample anywhere, not even on YouTube. I was so curious I ended up picking up this CD to hear for myself. It ended up only being a couple bucks due to the sale so I figured it was worth it. The Catastrophe of Creation is a very interesting metalcore/deathcore release. It's basically mid noughties metalcore with strong elements of deathcore and traditional heavy metal/power metal influenced clean vocals. I was surprised at how unique it sounded compared to what was coming out at the time. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it was solid enough to keep me engaged through the 55 minute run time. A neat little barely known release I happened to stumble upon by chance.
Ancestor - Koalacaust
This EP was a free bonus from 641 that I assume was thrown in due to the volume of my order. Koalacaust is the first EP from Pennsylvania mathcore/deathcore group Ancestor, released in 2008. It's a pretty solid release that lines up with what you would expect from a technical core band from this era with crazy tempo changes, hard breakdowns, distorted deathcore vocals, and tongue in cheek song titles. There is definitely a strong influence from The Dillinger Escape Plan that can plainly be heard throughout the EP, but the overall sound is much more Myspace-core than DEP. Again, nothing remarkable, but a rock solid release mathcore connoisseurs should definitely check it out.
Upheaval - Testimony To The Atrocities
Here we have a killer old-school deathcore release from 2001. The death metal influence is especially strong on this full-length, which sounds like the end result of a bunch of hardcore kids discovering Suffocation. The vocals for the most part are consistent with that raspy metalcore style that is prevalent among bands like this, but the music itself borrows heavily from technical death metal and brutal death metal, even more so than on their excellent debut EP. There are a lot of technical guitar riffs and constant blast beats that make this lean much more toward metal than Upheaval's previous outing. That being said, they didn't quite pull an Abnegation and go full on brutal death. There are still plenty of core elements like the vocals and plenty of breakdowns. I was able to get a sealed copy of this on Discogs for around $20, which was a good deal considering this is a cult classic from 20 years ago.
Immortal Dominion - Endure
The debut full-length album from a relatively unknown extreme metal group. 1998's Endure is a neat death/groove metal romp that isn't afraid to throw a few curveballs. The album is mostly mid-tempo, but has a good amount of tempo changes with some thrashier bits and offbeat stuff thrown in for good measure. There are also some enjoyable breakdowns and plenty of stop-start riffage throughout the album that I dig. It actually reminds me a bit of Pissing Razors. The vocals are very good, sounding like a cross between Phil Anselmo and Jamey Jasta. There are occassional death growls that are performed very well and there is one song, Brighter Days, that has southern rockish cleans that don't really land for me. There are more cleans in Piece of Meat that are a bit better but still not great. It's a bit weaker toward the middle, but the strong start and finish are enough to make me happy I picked this up from the same seller that sold me the Upheaval album.
Immortal Dominion - Awakening
Here we have the 2005 follow up to Immortal Dominion's Endure, which I got from 641distro. The band doubled down on the death metal elements this time around as the album is heavier, faster, and more technical than it's predecessor while still retaining a strong groove metal feel. The vocals are a lot more varied, with a raspy high pitched snarl being introduced along with the Anselmo/Jasta style vocals and more frequent death growls. There are even some decent Anselmo-style cleans mixed in. The most obvious improvement here is the drumming. I don't know whether the band got a new drummer or if he just got a lot better in the 7 years between albums but the drums are fucking nuts on this album in comparison to the pretty basic drumming on Endure. There are plenty of catchy riffs on this album and even some metalcore style mosh parts. I like this one a lot and I'm really glad I decided to take a chance on this band. They put out one more album after this which is unfortunately just shitty dad metal but hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Nothing Sacred - Nothing Sacred
This is another one I got from 641distro. Some solid heavy hardcore, if not at all original. Sounds very 2005. Expect tough guy vocals, downtuned but very HxC riffs, and simple drumming. This band eventually evolved into the Holy Terror band Unreal City, who I think are a little better.
Smackdown - Harder Than Hate
This is an old lesser known CTHC release from 1998 that I was able to track down at Redscroll Records. The only reason I knew this band existed was due to an old CTHC tripod site I found randomly. I'm glad I found it though because it's actually pretty damn good. Smackdown played heavy, mostly midtempo chugga-chugga hardcore. There is a lot of groove in these songs, even to the point where I detect a noticeable Machine Head or Exhorder influence in the guitar work. They also have more traditional 2-step parts and faster moments that sound more akin to old-school hardcore. Definitely a good find and fine addition to my CT band catalog.
Lariat/At War With Shadows - Split
Cool split from 2 early 2000s metalcore bands I got from 641distro. Lariat have a very dark, dissonant, and technical metalcore sound that borrows heavily from early mathcore. It's a little like Deadguy meets Acme. Very intense and intricate, but still remains rhythmic and moshy. At War With Shadows have a somewhat similar sound, but without the dissonant, dark tone and an even stronger mathcore influence. AWWS also incorporate a decent amount of melody into their music and are able to make it work alongside their chaotic breakdowns. Overall an excellent effort from both bands. They each also have their own full lengths that are also worth checking out.
Sarcasm - Burial Dimensions
This is a compilation I picked up at Redscroll that consists of the album of the same name plus a ton of demos from the Swedish death metal group Sarcasm. Apparently, the full length was recorded in 1994 but didn't see the light of day until 2011 as part of a different compilation as the band disbanded before it was released. Now, the band is back together recording music and have been since 2015. The album is a very good slab of black metal influenced 90s HM2 death metal with a surprising amount of melody. A majority of the demos included sound great for early 90s death metal demos. though I am sure that they were cleaned up a bit before being included here. The earlier demos have a much more raw Swedeath vibe to them, really dig those as well. $11 for over 2 hours of great death metal. Can't complain.
Red Tide - Themes Of The Cosmic Consciousness
This is the debut full length from another CT band, Red Tide. Much like with Sarcasm, this full length came to fruition after the band recorded like half a dozen demos over a period of years. Red Tide are a different breed. This band plays a weird hybrid of death metal, hardcore, progressive rock, and free jazz. They're essentially a crazier version of Candiria. I honestly really dig it. It's very different, especially from what was coming out at the time, and shows that there is some very creative stuff that flies under the radar. This was released on CD back in 1997, so it's pretty hard to come by. It's actually the only disk on this list that I paid a significant amount of money for. I got it off Discogs for around $60 and I normally don't spend that kind of money on CDs but I collect Connecticut metal and hardcore releases and this band is just so different I couldn't resist.
Red Tide - Type II
Okay, so I'm not quite sure what happened here. Red Tide went from being a super experimental prog death metal band to a metalcore band with some prog rock elements. It's still pretty good, but nowhere close to their first album. This was very jarring to listen to. The music is much more direct and much more "core" with some more proggy passages and some clean vocals that sound kind of buttrockish and aren't that great. I got this from 641distro and it's generally much cheaper than Themes of the Cosmic Conciousness, probably due to a larger quantity made and the overall musical quality not being quite the same. Overall, still a very solid release but definitely leaves one wanting.
Sea Of Thousand - The Church Of Total Collapse
This is another cool one from 641. The cover led me to believe that this would be a straight up metalcore record but it's actually a blend of hardcore and sludge metal. Frantic, high pitched vocals with some death growls, a style that kind of reminds me of Randy from Lamb of God. Plenty of those brooding, heavy, almost southern-tinged guitar riffs you see in sludge metal. here as well. I love finding more interesting releases like this amidst the sea of Hatebreed, Terror, and Bane clones that populated the hardcore scene in the mid to late 2000s.
What Weapons Bring War - What Weapons Bring War
This was another free bonus from 641 and a pretty sweet one at that. This is really good deathcore heavily influenced by mathcore and grindcore. Chaotic and high pitched vocals, skronky guitar parts, deathcore breakdowns, blast beats, the whole package is here. I keep seeing this band labeled as "brutal death metal" on what few pages of info I can find on them but this is very clearly old-school deathcore. What's more, this band is actually from Bristol, Connecticut. I've never heard of them but I'm glad this was included because it adds to my ever growing Connecticut collection.
Light is the Language - The Void Falls Silent
Rounding out this list is yet another CD from 641distro. More good shit. Great chaotic metalcore from Massachusetts. Definitely detect a mathcore vibe, but retains the tightness of more straight up metalcore. Kind of reminds me of old Converge. Highly recommended for those of you into old school technical shit made by hardcore kids in the noughties.
