June 2021 Feature Release – The Revolution Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Revolution has been selected by myself. It's 1998's highly regarded "If God Only Knew the Rest Were Dead" E.P. from Minneapolis metalcore outfit Disembodied.

https://metal.academy/releases/4246

I really enjoyed this little E.P. which offers a muscular take on the metalcore subgenre. It includes five short songs that are built around hard-hitting, heavily down-tuned metal riffage & Aaron Weseman's angry hardcore vocal delivery. The weight of the guitars often sees me flirting with the sludge metal tag actually although I never see myself fully committing to the concept. There's a clear Machine Head influence in the inclusion of a number of groove metal riffs spread across the tracklisting while Godflesh has clearly had an impact on the band too with several parts showcasing a similar use of guitar harmonics & open-strings. "Dislocation" highlights a clear affiliation with my beloved Slayer too but it's the sheer enthusiasm of this E.P. that gets me.  Where many modern metalcore outfits turn to melody & commercial hooks these days, it's refreshing to hear a band that focuses purely on a more aggressive sound that takes no prisoners with the effect being similar to a blunt instrument to the cranium.

For fans of Sunami, Earth Crisis & late 90's Converge.

4/5

Well I certainly wasn't expecting this: A metalcore album with groove and sludge metal elements, depicting lyrical themes of isolation, self-loathing and even suicide, and goddamn does it not slap! The opening of this EP with "Heroine Fingers" is so well done, almost reminiscent of Jordan Dreyer of La Dispute, one of my favourite modern post-hardcore bands with the alternating between softer spoken word and harsh screams. The hooks are sparse, allowing for the words to be fully understood which I greatly appreciated, but they are produced incredibly well for a twenty-plus year old record; the bass is heavy and these slower grooves are pummeling. If this isn't my type of throwdown music then I need to reevaluate myself!

8/10