Review by SilentScream213 for Starkweather - Crossbearer (1992)

An interesting release if nothing else. Starkweather’s debut seems to be labeled Metalcore mostly because it just doesn’t fit anywhere else, and in fact the album sounds like the band really had no idea what they were going for. It’s not bad, and definitely has an interest factor to it, but sounds unabashedly like an amateur band finding themselves.

The musicianship is very simple, and most of the time simple chords backed by basic beats carry the screaming vocalist in an anxious, occasionally depressive or angry atmosphere. The songs are way too long for what they have to offer. There are a few changes here and there, and the album is definitely hard to pin down. There’s Alt Metal, Heavy Metal, Trad Doom, Sludge, maybe even some Post-Punk in places, straight up Hardcore… and for lack of a better term we go with Metalcore.

I feel like these guys have a lot of potential, they just don’t find it here. However, it’s still a decent album with an interesting and unique palette to offer. Bonus track "Above the Rafters" is awesome.