Reviews list for Last Ten Seconds of Life, The - Soulless Hymns (2015)

Those last couple reviews for albums by Enterprise Earth and Fit for an Autopsy were my attempts at checking out the progressive side of deathcore, ending with fantastic results. Now we're going into the more nu-ish deathcore bands. I actually heard of The Last Ten Seconds of Life before this review because one of my brother's friends likes that band, along with a few of their tracks being added to my Revolution playlists, but that band was too brutal for me at the time. Maybe I can enjoy the brutality more now...

The metalcore/deathcore scene expanded a lot throughout the new millennium. Some might find some bands listenable, while others don't. This Pennsylvanian band storms through with some of the most aggressive riffs, breakdowns, and vocals you can imagine. Any open-minded heavy modern metalheads can recognize their strong talent.

"As the World Turns Over" begins their brutal nu metal-ish direction. The vocals sounds so monstrous! "The Box" has more massive guitar assault as the near-undecipherable lyrics growled by then-vocalist Storm Strope bite religion in the a**. Leaning into post-hardcore a bit is "North of Corpus". Then "Meant to Be Free" is covered in sinister riffing and breakdowns that are more horror-filled than The Exorcist.

"Guillotine Queen" has more of those growling vocals blended with whispering. Speeding up a little is "Pain is Pleasure" with powerful atmosphere. "Ballad of the Butcher" has all the different extreme aspects deathcore has. "Sacrifice (The Prince)" is so d*mn perfect, absolutely impressive with the brutal music and irreligious lyrics. F*** yeah!

"Changing Forms" continues the harsh growling and crushing guitars. We actually get a blues rock-sounding solo in the lighter yet ominous "Heavy Headed". Next up, "Junkie - Sprite" is an interesting highlight. Although they're still deathcore, that one leans into some of the chaos of Car Bomb while staying in a mid-tempo pace close to the industrial groove of Fear Factory and Mnemic. Finally, the vocals have more effect in "The Dream is Dead" which returns to the earlier brutal heaviness.

In a world where melodic pop songs have influenced even metal bands, The Last Ten Seconds of Life avoid those influences like the plague. Soulless Hymns is filled with heavy rage not for the faint-hearted. Anyone up for some brutal fury should take on these hymns of destruction....

Favorites: "As the World Turns Over", "The Box", "Meant to Be Free", "Ballad of the Butcher", "Sacrifice (The Prince)", "Junkie - Sprite"