Young Poor & Angry Press

And on the 8th day, god was finished resting and said “Let there be breakdowns!” I’m pretty sure if anyone in Emmure has gone to church, that was more or less what they got out of the sermon. And here I thought Bury Your Dead and On Broken Wings were as mosh as it gets nowadays. Boy was I wrong! Connecticut’s favorite wiggerish purveyors of mosh for da masses are back with their third album in as many years, and it’s basically just more of the same. Or is it?

Everyone knows that, however controversial it is and for better or worse, Emmure ripped a few pages out of The Acacia Strain’s playbook and ran with it, and somewhere along the line they decided to take a bunch of notes in nu metal 101, specifically highlighting the “how to take all the worst aspects of nu metal and none of the (very little) good and make sic musikz bro” chapter. Nu metal deathcore? I’d actually hardly classify Emmure as such. Nu-moshcore would be much more fitting. But all this has been said before many times, and I’m not rip into the band too much. Despite their gimmicky nature and the whole “our label is milking us for everything they can get out of us till the next trend comes along” vibe I get, they’re actually not the worst band of this style (see: Liferuiner). “Felony” shows the band progressing…and by progressing I mean punching the nu metal influence knob up from “I think there’s something wrong with meeeee” to “oh my I am so dead inside and no one can see, darkness clouds me.” Translation: this shit is as nu as a Dope album. I’m trying to be as forgiving as possible here. I DO like some nu metal (Sevendust? Guilty as charged), and Emmure have their…moments, I guess…ah, what can ya do.

If you like breakdowns, you’ll love this band because that is all they do. They took the whole “break down the breakdown” idea and tore it a new one. If the sounds of Korn, Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber made the darkness inside your tumultuous heart come alive with sinister abandon, these guys are definitely for you. If either of those or both of those are your things, then go buy this album, learn the lyrics, go to a show and mosh your balls off (or proverbial balls, if you’re a mosh chica). I hear they’re way fun live.

“Alice In Chains is coming out with a new album?! They can’t do that without Layne Stanley! It’s not right and won’t be the same!” Those were more or less the first things that came to mind when I learned that Alice In Chains had reunited with a new vocalist and were in the process of writing a new full length. I’m sure that a lot of people thought the same thing. The more I thought about it though the more I realized that AIC is more or less Jerry Cantrell’s brainchild, as he writes all the music and the lion’s share of the lyrics. The fact that lead vocalist Layne Stanley passed away in 2002 from a drug overdose definitely hangs a dark cloud over the band, and the fact that he was hands down one of the best vocalists of the 90’s and even, dare I say, of all time, makes a comeback album quite a risky undertaking. Can the band continue on without such a unique and powerful talent? Can they make an album that stacks up against the rest of their discography? Who could they possibly get to fill Layne’s monstrous shoes?

The fact is, not only are these shoes filled, but they’re filled surprisingly well by new vocalist William Duvall. He sounds a lot like Layne, but not in a way that rips him off. He has his own style, despite the similarity of their voices, and more importantly he has SOUL, something that Layne Stanley had in spades. One thing that made AIC such a unique and awesome band was the dual vocal harmonies of him and Cantrell, which got more and more complex as the band progressed. These are definitely still present, and Duvall and Cantrell’s voices mesh quite nicely, which is good because without this aspect the album really wouldn’t work. Duvall is truly a gifted singer, and deserves a lot more credit than I feel he’s gotten so far from people who’s seen them live or heard their newest singles.

Alice In Chains truly have made a helluva comeback album, and while I’m not sure it’s as good as their previous albums, it definitely holds a candle to them. Tracks like “Check My Brain” and “Last of My Kind” are vintage AIC, while “A Looking In View” sounds not un-like something off their 1995 self-titled album. Indeed, the album as a whole has the feel of the self-titled album, which is definitely a good thing. It’s a well-balanced album, with heavier tracks like the aforementioned “Last of My Kind” and “A Looking in View,” coupled with softer, more acoustic-driven songs like “Your Decision” and the title track which are more along the lines of something you’d find on “Jar of Flies.” The album is definitely not perfect however, and there’s a few songs that are less than memorable. Despite this, it’s a great record and far better than the majority of what’s out in there today in more mainstream-oriented rock. Definitely worth checking out.

Deathcore is quite the controversial bit of subject matter amongst metalheads and hardcore kids nowadays. Too metal to be considered hardcore, yet too hardcore-influenced and breakdown-oriented to be considered “true death metal” by the more elitist in the metal crowd. To me, it’s kind of like the red-headed stepchild of the heavy music community. It’s got it’s flaws, and a lot of the time you may not wanna admit you like it or associate with it, but in the end it’s still family, or in this case, a subgenre of music that despite being so polarizing is important to the modern music climate. Just like any other style of music, there’s the good bands and the bad bands, although in this instance, I would say far more bad ones than good. However there are some gems, and one of these is Despised Icon. The Montreal-based six piece is back with their fourth full-length, “Day of Mourning,” and it’s hands down their best album yet.

One of the things that’s always made Despised Icon stand out from other deathcore bands is that their breakdowns come across more as actual parts of a song than simple mosh riffs to get the kids going crazy in a live setting. The polyrhythmic intensity they often employ is far from original nowadays but they do the off-meter thing a whole lot better than most other deathcore and metalcore bands. The fact that the band crafts actual songs instead of parts strewn together that only serve to break up the monotomy of constant breakdownage is definitely a plus, and their breakdowns are often the most interesting part of the songs.

One thing that is very apparent about “Day of Mourning” is it sounds more like a real death metal album to me than a metalcore one. Tracks like “Diva of Disgust” and “Les Temps Changent” exemplify this, with the former even having a bit of speedier black metal influence towards the end. Maybe the addition of new guitarist Ben Landreville has something to do with it, but the band has definitely crafted a deathcore album that falls more into the “death” catogory than the “core.” Despite this, breakdowns still definitely abound, so if fighting invisible ninjas is your thing fret not - the mosh is definitely here.

Another standout about the band that truly shines on this album is the performance of drummer Alexandre Pelletier. Next to Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy, he might be the best Canadian metal skinsman out there currently. His blast beats are varied and intense, and his knack for polyrhythms and interesting fills are truly what makes this band, and this album in particular, stand out.

In addition to the aforementioned tracks, the title track/first single “Day of Mourning,” and “MVP” are standouts, and the bouncy mid-tempo sections and hard-as-hell-but-dare-I-say-catchy main breakdown of “All for Nothing” makes that possibly the best track on the album.

If you like deathcore, this album is definitely for you. If you don’t like deathcore, I’d still highly recommend it as Despised Icon’s songwriting ability and musical proficiency truly makes them stand head and shoulders above their peers.

Those that think punk is dead would do well to listen to A Wilhelm Scream. These Massachusetts-based dudes are onto some next-level shit with their punch-in-the-nuts blend of SoCal skate punk, melodic hardcore and thrash metal-influenced riffage. Their previous full-length, “Career Suicide,” was hands-down one of the best and most memorable punk/hardcore albums of the 2000’s, and probably will go down in the annals of punk history as one of the best albums of the genre.

So how does their new self-titled EP match up to the genre-bending shred-fest of “Career Suicide?” Overall, very well I’d say. The most immediate impression is that they’ve included much more melody in these songs. Three-part vocal harmonies abound in these five tracks, and when coupled with lead vocalist Nuno Pereira’s clever lyrical sensibilities result in a pretty infectious listening experience. Lines like “Tried to pull the wool over the wolf, ’til you can’t see the white of my eyes. Your bastards aren’t so young anymore” and “As long as I’ve got friends, I will have enemies in the making” have been stuck in my head on numerous occasions, and although some of the lyrics might come across as somewhat nonsensical at first listen, it’s obvious they lay the fabric for a much deeper meaning. Too many bands nowadays have shit lyrics that have nothing to say and lack any kind of message, so it’s refreshing to see songs that make you think and rise past the typical “Fuck you I’m punk fuck the government and the system fuck fuck fuck youuu!” lyrics that so many punk bands rest on their laurels with.

The infusion of melody into these songs makes the end product sound something like an amalgamation of all their past work. “Career Suicide” was a monster of an album with unrelenting speed and technicality, but some people complained about the decreased emphasis on the catchy melodies found on “Ruiner” and “Mute Print.” This self-titled EP has melody in spades, without sacrificing any of the shred. Although A Wilhelm Scream are at their fiery best when they’re melting your face off with hundred mile an hour riffs and drastic tempo changes, they aren’t afraid to slow it down. “Fun Time” serves as a reprieve from the nonstop technical wizardry with it’s slow tempo’d, melodic and more rock-influenced riffs and fluid bass lines. It’s booze-drenched lyrics are a bit more straight-forward and less serious than the other songs, and although it kind of drags towards the end of its 4 minute running time, you’d be hard pressed not to wanna crack open a couple of cold ones after hearing it.

The majority of the tracks do a good job of showcasing the dual-lead guitar work of Trevor Reilly and Mike Supina, which is as fierce and interesting as ever. The bands real trump card however, once again, is bassist Brian Robinson. This dude is a maniac and really gives Rancid’s Matt Freeman a run for his money over the “Best punk bassist” title. The dude is constantly off doing his own thing, utilizing various scales and arpeggios that really round out the songs and help take them to places they wouldn’t go otherwise. The opening finger-tapping part of “Skid Rock” in particular is a testament to this dude’s playing ability. The end result is that each song takes you on a journey. There’s no boring verse-chorus-verse nonsense here – these guys’ songwriting ability is just as progressive and interesting as any metal band.

Bottom line: If you like punk, hardcore, or metal, you should definitely check this EP out, and also their entire previous discography. A Wilhelm Scream are really pushing the envelope of what punk rock is, with their top-notch songwriting ability, instrumental prowess, catchy vocal harmonies and intelligent lyrics. If this EP is any indication, the band is far from done, and although I don’t think it quite measures up to “Career Suicide,” it makes it clear that they haven’t reached their full potential yet. Hopefully they follow this up with a new full length sometime this year, cuz this EP definitely will leave you wanting more.