No Souls Lost - Hostis Humani Generis
The Dallas, TX, USA band No Souls Lost joins the ranks and wranglers (used in honor of the band’s Texas-American roots) of bands that grab the whip of metal and slash with juicy morsels from variant genres of metal. The closes approximation to No Souls Lost I can think of would be the quite popular Lamb of God. No Souls Lost’s CD HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS opens with a heart beat, which is just too humorous because it reminds me of Huey Lewis. And while I understand what this is about, the joke ends as soon as the heartbeat ends because the music for real begins and the weight of the musical progression makes up for that few moments at the start.
I mentioned Lamb of God, not to paint No Souls Lost as derivative at all, but to explore from a unique point, the originality that no Souls Lost explores and creates. The Lamb of God comparison is made because that band describes itself as ‘Pure American Metal,” a comment that is taken to be a stand for creativity and which is built upon new strains of metal not found in the heaviest of the death counterparts across the globe. No Souls Lost rests in this realm quite secure at this time because its rhythm (bass drums and lower guitar riff) do not always pound together, a trick that works the ground of “heaviness” so monotonously that the dirt becomes oft times light and airy dust. The drums in No Souls are clean blast beats for sure, but the emotions of actual guitar tunes, e.g. track No. 4, “Metaphysics Of Murder,” are staged such that slight whimpers can be felt right from the start and even though the beats do work together in that song afterwards, there is a higher spectrum of notes erupting from the guitars that work against that simplicity and boredom.
But the complexity of beats and sounds are only a part of the pleasures to be had in HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS. The use of fuller time-taking guitar distortions are placed throughout the CD and add more texture (I know I tend to obsess over texture in my reviews), especially in light of the lighter old rock guitar riffs that touch here and there. HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS is a CD that explodes, builds tension, and then blows out again at creative angles all the way through.
I mentioned Lamb of God, not to paint No Souls Lost as derivative at all, but to explore from a unique point, the originality that no Souls Lost explores and creates. The Lamb of God comparison is made because that band describes itself as ‘Pure American Metal,” a comment that is taken to be a stand for creativity and which is built upon new strains of metal not found in the heaviest of the death counterparts across the globe. No Souls Lost rests in this realm quite secure at this time because its rhythm (bass drums and lower guitar riff) do not always pound together, a trick that works the ground of “heaviness” so monotonously that the dirt becomes oft times light and airy dust. The drums in No Souls are clean blast beats for sure, but the emotions of actual guitar tunes, e.g. track No. 4, “Metaphysics Of Murder,” are staged such that slight whimpers can be felt right from the start and even though the beats do work together in that song afterwards, there is a higher spectrum of notes erupting from the guitars that work against that simplicity and boredom.
But the complexity of beats and sounds are only a part of the pleasures to be had in HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS. The use of fuller time-taking guitar distortions are placed throughout the CD and add more texture (I know I tend to obsess over texture in my reviews), especially in light of the lighter old rock guitar riffs that touch here and there. HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS is a CD that explodes, builds tension, and then blows out again at creative angles all the way through.
1. Hostis Humanis Generis
2. Greater Pestilence
3. Dracolich
4. Metaphysics Of Murder
5. 793
6. The Plane Of Crossing
7. Enuma Elish
8. Catatonic Death Trance
9. Solstice
10. Impure Empire
11. Descent Into Madness
12. Heartwork (cover Carcass)
2. Greater Pestilence
3. Dracolich
4. Metaphysics Of Murder
5. 793
6. The Plane Of Crossing
7. Enuma Elish
8. Catatonic Death Trance
9. Solstice
10. Impure Empire
11. Descent Into Madness
12. Heartwork (cover Carcass)
