Deadly Remains - Before The Nothing
Deadly Remains is a fresh young band from California and 'Before The Nothing' is their death metal debut. They mix a lot of thrash riffs in with the deep growls to create a varied, enjoyable album for anyone of the genre. The CD kicks off with "Signs Of Impurity" which is a piano driven instrumental and a great lead in for the death metal side on "Bleed The Suffering." On this track it tends to feel a bit like deathcore with the repetitive chug of the guitars over and over along with the roared vocals, but later on things pan out better for more variation. Deadly Remains tend to use a lot of force and aggression with their music along the lines of the more brutal death metal bands like Hour Of Penance, but also incorporate bits of melody and technicality such as on tracks like "Still Alive." The most notable thing is the groove and thrash elements that are included to create just the right energy in the music.
There is the epic "What Lies Beneath" which really shows how the band pushes their limits with how far they can go. While some of it tends to repetitous with some of the groove lines, it is not very often that death metal clocks past five minutes (unless one is Vital Remains or Opeth of course). It is a simple song, but fortunately never boring. In contrast there is the partly acoustic "A Faceless God" which allows the band to show its softer, technical side along with some heavier moments, right before diving into "From Dust" which really shows the best vocal work as it roars away like a caged lion, and one can really feel the stress on the vocalist as he tries to push the limits along with the band. The pace of the music is also very easy to go with and doesn't feel as hectic as some of the songs either.
For a debut, this is solid stuff, and a promise of bigger and better ones to come. The formula is a good one, but if they keep putting the same kind of album out over and over it will lose its charm over time. Fortunately, this release isn't too technical or too basic... it has just the right sound for fans to really get into it who haven't heard these guys already.
There is the epic "What Lies Beneath" which really shows how the band pushes their limits with how far they can go. While some of it tends to repetitous with some of the groove lines, it is not very often that death metal clocks past five minutes (unless one is Vital Remains or Opeth of course). It is a simple song, but fortunately never boring. In contrast there is the partly acoustic "A Faceless God" which allows the band to show its softer, technical side along with some heavier moments, right before diving into "From Dust" which really shows the best vocal work as it roars away like a caged lion, and one can really feel the stress on the vocalist as he tries to push the limits along with the band. The pace of the music is also very easy to go with and doesn't feel as hectic as some of the songs either.
For a debut, this is solid stuff, and a promise of bigger and better ones to come. The formula is a good one, but if they keep putting the same kind of album out over and over it will lose its charm over time. Fortunately, this release isn't too technical or too basic... it has just the right sound for fans to really get into it who haven't heard these guys already.
- Sign of Impurity
- Bleed The Suffering
- Before The Nothing
- Season Of Slaughter
- Still Alive
- What Lies Beneath
- A Faceless God
- From Dust
Deepsend Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jan 14, 2011
Jan 14, 2011
Next review:
Dantalion - All Roads Lead To Death
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