This industrial groove metal band from Atlanta, Georgia released their first full-length album last year. The most interesting thing of this band is that there are just two dudes in this band and there is no guitar player in it. Jason Wisdom, the vocalist and bass player is not an unknown name in the metal. He was the vocalist and bass player of Becoming The Archetype for twelve years. After a break of four years to care for his family he’s back with this band. And honestly, this shows that even with just a bass, drums and some vocals you can make amazing music.
It starts off with the calm song Until Then. It has clean vocals in the begin but it builds up to become something with a combination of calm and rough. Then when the next song plays, it’s a whole lot different. It has a groovy and deep bass-line. The most fascinating thing it the fact that the bass really sounds a lot like a guitar and makes up for the fact of mot having a guitar. The vocals are very deep and raw while it sounds almost like it’s being whispered. It has a great sound and is just something you could expect from someone with twelve years of experience. The Lie has just a very strong intro. It sets the mood and sound for the whole song. The mix of grunting and clean vocals makes a great change of sound and makes it very interesting. This is also well done in the song Wake me (When I’m Dead). This makes the intro kind of creepy and builds up to the moment the grunting and all instruments come in. This song is catchy and that is actually weird with a metal song. I must say that I like that about this song. The song Slow Dance (With Death) kind of reminds me of Motionless In White with their song Reincarnate. It has that kind of vocals in it and sounds not only very creepy but also very unique. It is still a metal song but it almost has some kind of relaxed sound. It reminds me of blues and jazz mixed with metal and actually sounds very good. This kind of vocals are also put into their song Possessed and are mixed with raw vocals. It has that kind of groovy sound and still sounds so rough. The most fun song on the album I think is The Belmont Family Curse (Pt. 2: Day). It sounds like its made for a 8-bit game. It not only sounds like it, it could be a great soundtrack for one.
I really like this album. I have seen this band live and at that point it didn’t caught my attention, but they have now. It sounds very experimental and I like how they make it sound. There is no moment my head has not moved as long as I listened to this album, it has just such a good beat that I just had to move my head. Also the difference between the songs and the feeling of the songs makes it a great album. the fact that there is no guitar is not a problem with this band. The bass really takes over the place of the guitar and at some points really sounds like a guitar. This is a welcome sound into the metal music.
Rating: 8.5
Written by Joshua
Band members:
Jason Wisdom – Vocals and Bass
Josh Seagraves – Drums
Track list:
1. Until Then
2. Self Mind Dead (feat. Andrew Schwab)
3. The Lie
4. Wake Me (When I’m Dead)
5. Prodigal
6. Slow Dance (With Death)
7. Possessed
8. Everything Burns
9. The Belmont Family Curse (Pt. 1: Night)
10. The Belmont Family Curse (Pt. 2: Day)
Record label: Solid State Records, Feb. 2017
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video below: ‘Wake Me (When I’m Dead)
Lyric video for ‘Self Mind Dead’ (feat. Andrew Schwab)
Lyric video for ‘Slow Dance (With Death)’