Shards Of Humanity - Fractured Frequencies
Memphis, Tennessee’s Shards Of Humanity make a triumphant return to the depths of the underground with the masterful "Fractured Frequencies" debut full-length. Heavily influenced by late 80’s and early 90’s thrash and death metal, these guys proceed to just rip everything to shreds. There is absolutely nothing compromising about this release. Everything from the song structure to the production is absolutely flawless. Also, once again, Unspeakable Axe Records has hit one out of the park with this release. This label knows the real deal when it comes to metal and this CD is a damn fine example of the prestige and pride that goes into making a true masterpiece that every metal head should have in their collection.
The riffs are not real technical, yet not all that simplistic either. In the opening song it’s like a mixture of Slayer’s "South of Heaven" album as well as a touch of Atrocity’s "Hallucinations". Most noticeably the song 'Deep In Your Subconscious'. Other noticeable vibes are from bands such as Sinister, Incubus, and Sadus. The sheer brutality of these riffs is a tad bit muddy and borders the death/thrash genres back and forth through the whole CD. Just when you point out one thing the band switches it up. It basically sounds like an army of soldiers sludging and marching their way across a battlefield mowing down everything in their path with an uncompromising mindset. Surrounding the enemy on every side with nothing but these low chainsaw type riffs filling their ears until every head explodes! And then here come more vibes in the vein of Sodom, Dark Angel, Cyclone, Autopsy, and a thrashier version of Carcass. This is some serious metal here and these guys are coming at you from every angle that they can. You can either submit to this awesomeness or become collateral damage!
The drums on this album are mixed at nothing less than the level of perfection. No hollow sounding snares and I seriously doubt there are triggers either. Even if there are, it doesn’t really matter. With everything going on in these tracks, it’s just a minute aspect that doesn’t diminish anything on this recording in the slightest. Reminiscent of drummers like Gene Hoglan, Donald Tardy, Mike Browning, and Chris Reifert, this guy pounds the skins like there’s no tomorrow and could definitely hold his own with any of the above named artists. The proficiency in the drum work is awesome to say the least. There have been several underground drummers that have gone on to do drum work for big name bands while remaining true to the metal arts and I would say it’s safe to bet that this guy could do the same. Mid tempo to slow tempo and back again, everything is covered here with an undying passion and love for this musical style.
I really can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason the vocals on this CD remind me of those on Thanatos "Emerging From The Netherworlds". That with a slight mixture of Obituary. A very nice choice of vocal patterns for this release. Not too much deviation where the vocals are concerned and normally that would be annoying but it really works for the best here. Every piece of the puzzle fits flawlessly and I could not find one error with this album. Well, maybe just one. It just wasn’t long enough! I highly recommend this CD to any and everyone. It is just simply so painstakingly brutal, it will infect your ears and then your brain until you can think of nothing else but playing this album again and again. I know that it will have a lot of time in my stereo. I also want to give even more respect and love to Unspeakable Axe Records for signing this band and releasing this record. Contact them and get this CD!
The riffs are not real technical, yet not all that simplistic either. In the opening song it’s like a mixture of Slayer’s "South of Heaven" album as well as a touch of Atrocity’s "Hallucinations". Most noticeably the song 'Deep In Your Subconscious'. Other noticeable vibes are from bands such as Sinister, Incubus, and Sadus. The sheer brutality of these riffs is a tad bit muddy and borders the death/thrash genres back and forth through the whole CD. Just when you point out one thing the band switches it up. It basically sounds like an army of soldiers sludging and marching their way across a battlefield mowing down everything in their path with an uncompromising mindset. Surrounding the enemy on every side with nothing but these low chainsaw type riffs filling their ears until every head explodes! And then here come more vibes in the vein of Sodom, Dark Angel, Cyclone, Autopsy, and a thrashier version of Carcass. This is some serious metal here and these guys are coming at you from every angle that they can. You can either submit to this awesomeness or become collateral damage!
The drums on this album are mixed at nothing less than the level of perfection. No hollow sounding snares and I seriously doubt there are triggers either. Even if there are, it doesn’t really matter. With everything going on in these tracks, it’s just a minute aspect that doesn’t diminish anything on this recording in the slightest. Reminiscent of drummers like Gene Hoglan, Donald Tardy, Mike Browning, and Chris Reifert, this guy pounds the skins like there’s no tomorrow and could definitely hold his own with any of the above named artists. The proficiency in the drum work is awesome to say the least. There have been several underground drummers that have gone on to do drum work for big name bands while remaining true to the metal arts and I would say it’s safe to bet that this guy could do the same. Mid tempo to slow tempo and back again, everything is covered here with an undying passion and love for this musical style.
I really can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason the vocals on this CD remind me of those on Thanatos "Emerging From The Netherworlds". That with a slight mixture of Obituary. A very nice choice of vocal patterns for this release. Not too much deviation where the vocals are concerned and normally that would be annoying but it really works for the best here. Every piece of the puzzle fits flawlessly and I could not find one error with this album. Well, maybe just one. It just wasn’t long enough! I highly recommend this CD to any and everyone. It is just simply so painstakingly brutal, it will infect your ears and then your brain until you can think of nothing else but playing this album again and again. I know that it will have a lot of time in my stereo. I also want to give even more respect and love to Unspeakable Axe Records for signing this band and releasing this record. Contact them and get this CD!
- Fractured Frequencies
- Astral Agony
- Aphoticism
- Shards Of Humanity
- Internal Rot
- Species Ensnared
- Suspension
