Stigmata (USA) - The Heart Grows Harder (1992)^{Release ID: 42481}

It's albums like Stigmata's The Heart Grows Harder in which the band has clear potential that somehow gets missed. It sounds like a hardcore/early metalcore band trying to replicate Metallica's earlier thrash sound that they discarded for the Black Album from the previous year. You can hear from the "progressive" drumming that falls out of place, especially the bass drum, the guitar riffing and leads that are good but a bit too much of a rip-off, and the vocals that sound more like a weak attempt at impersonating James Hetfield than most other metalcore bands. Pretty much a lot of the instrumentation sounds muddier than what black metal bands were doing those days production-wise...

The best song here by far is the title track, a 7-minute opening epic that actually reminds me of Paradise Lost's Shades of God in the earlier verses. Then midway through, things go as fast as the speed/thrash metal of early Metallica. But there's still a bit of the hardcore/metalcore that represents what the earlier bands of the genre were going for. Then it slows down again to that Paradise Lost-like pace. The rest of the album is 5 more songs with two scattered interludes, but none of them match the title track's glory.

I think it's quite interesting to hear Stigmata's attempt at a crossover blend of hardcore/early metalcore and the prog-ish thrash of 80s Metallica. Ultimately though, most of the album just falls flat on the face. Only the opening title track is worth much of your time....

Favorites (only one in this album): "The Heart Grows Harder"