October 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 nominated by myself. It's 2001's well-received "Les 150 passions meurtrières" E.P. from French metalcore outfit Kickback.
https://metal.academy/releases/3132
This one didn't sound so great for me, I didn't even try writing a full review. Laugh at this if you must: https://metal.academy/reviews/22573/3132
I get along fine with this. French metallic hardcore done with a ton of bricks level of heaviness but also with a sense of measure in the approach. As opposed to a decapitating approach to every track there is actual build on most occasions that kind of gives the brain the breathing space in between tracks when needed. Don't think the rap track works that well though but perfectly a acceptable listen otherwise.
3/5
it seems like their "inspirations" are mainly rip-offs. There may be some lyrical copying from Whitehouse and De Sade, especially in the title track, all mangled in the French tongue.
Andi, I just had a read of your review & was very surprised to find that you're across the works of both UK power electronics artist Whitehouse & 18th Century French erotic writer Marquis de Sade (particularly the latter). I do think your statement about the lyrics being "all mangled in the French tongue" is a bit deceptive though as the vast majority are in English.
I quite enjoyed this one. It certainly doesn't attempt to do anything drastically different but it does possess an honesty & authenticity that I find a fair bit of appeal in. The beatdown hardcore influence is plain to see in the sheer violence of this music & that's kinda the point of the whole exercise so if that description doesn't sound like something that you'd enjoy then you're not gonna dig a release like this one. Kickback's riffs are simple, chuggy & uncluttered with the rhythm section giving them plenty of room to breath. Front man Stephen Bessac is hardly a vocal maestro with his aggressive screaming being par for the course with this style of music but he certainly adds to the already muscular framework of what is a essentially a very up-front & straight-forward metalcore release. Overall I found "Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres" to be a well executed (if slightly generic) piece of hardcore-inspired metal.
For fans of Hatebreed, Sunami & God's Hate.
3.5/5
it seems like their "inspirations" are mainly rip-offs. There may be some lyrical copying from Whitehouse and De Sade, especially in the title track, all mangled in the French tongue.
Andi, I just had a read of your review & was very surprised to find that you're across the works of both UK power electronics artist Whitehouse & 18th Century French erotic writer Marquis de Sade (particularly the latter). I do think your statement about the lyrics being "all mangled in the French tongue" is a bit deceptive though as the vast majority are in English.
I've only heard/read a small bit of Whitehouse and de Sade, and I still remember from a long time ago. There were a few songs from Whitehouse I've heard from my young radio pop days, and I don't remember what the songs were, but definitely their less inappropriate singles. My brother and I like to play computer games, and one of his favorites is Assassin Creed. In one of the AC games, Unity, Marquis de Sade was portrayed as an NPC assisting the main protagonist in some missions. I looked up Marquis de Sade on the internet and found fragments of his works. Those works did not look so appropriate for me at the time (back then I was around 15), so I turned away from them, same with Whitehouse after finding more info and lyrics from that band.
When I made this review, once I heard those lyrics, my Whitehouse and De Sade memories came back, though I definitely can tolerate those memories more now. While those lyrics are in English, it seems like they're a little high in the accent of their native country at some points. If they wrote original, more suitable lyrics that aren't frequently accented, I would've given my review at least 3.5 stars and make it longer than this post, but unfortunately....NAH.
It sounds amusing to say that deSade is mangled in the French language when, being a French nobleman, I''m pretty sure that's the language he wrote his works in!
While those lyrics are in English, it seems like they're a little high in the accent of their native country at some points. If they wrote original, more suitable lyrics that aren't frequently accented, I would've given my review at least 3.5 stars and make it longer than this post, but unfortunately....NAH.
Is it even possible to have an accent when screaming your guts out like this? I wouldn't have thought so. If you can pick up a French accent or any clear language at all in that indecipherable vocal performance then you're a better man than I am Andi. Also, isn't the fact that you find the intentionally extreme lyrics to be a dealbreaker evidence that they're actually quite original within the context of the metalcore scene?
Now this argument made it look like Jacques Cousteau was in a metalcore band, when obviously not true at all. I should've clarified this further. When my eardrums get pierced by indecipherable vocals, it sounds so unclear that my mind only focuses on one micro-aspect that might seem hard to believe. Quite strange, right? With lyrics reaching deep down into the extreme, making me remember some things I've stumbled upon that I wish I didn't, I wouldn't be surprised if the band's lyrics end up associated with European death metal, despite staying metalcore. That's another reason why this band has barely any appeal to me, in a similar level to death metal for me nowadays...
LATEST HEADLINES: Metalcore band in unintelligible lyrics scandal!! Fans shocked by references to violence in hardcore songs!
*Sorry. I couldn't help myself.* :)