 It used to be that you would put on a metal band's record and you could pretty much figure out if they hailed from the U.S. or Europe pretty quickly. Lately, more and more bands from the States are crafting heavily European influenced death metal. Whether it is the twin guitar attack of Black Dahlia Murder or some other young band aping the Gothenburg sound, European death metal has definitely left an impression in the U.S. Southern California 6 piece, Winds of Plague are no exception. Their piercing brand of European death metal informed material will definitely win over fans who can't get enough of this kind of stuff. Machine gun rhythms give way to anguished vocal grunts and meticulously placed guitar harmonies around every turn. But the secret weapon here is the way they utilize keyboardist Matt Fineman (who has since left the group) throughout the album. His cinematic charts run in and out of the riffs in an unorthodox yet effective way. Sometimes it sounds like there are two songs playing simultaneously! But it makes for a compelling listen. The keyboard intro on "Legions" wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack to a film like 300 or Conan The Barbarian. Other bands in this genre have tried the same approach but have fallen flat but WOP have truly nailed the nuance down. I really hope the band continue to venture further into this facet of their sound in the future as some of their other elements come off a bit weaker. The more traditional hardcore feel on "Reloaded" comes off half-hearted and never really connects on any level. All in all, Decimate The Weak is an impressive outing for a promising band but here's to hoping they bring more of the intriguing keyboards next time!
Review by Carlos Ramirez
|
| | | | Overall Rating | | 7 | | Vocals / Lyrics | n/a | | Musicianship | n/a | | Production | n/a | | Creativity | n/a | | Lastability | n/a | | Reviewers Tilt | n/a |
70% | |
| |
| 
Winds of Plague - Decimate The Weak
Problems plague World of Warcraft