Review by Vinny for Kingdom of Sorrow - Behind the Blackest Tears (2010)

If you read existing reviews of this album there seems to be a conflict of styles that undoes any possible value in the record before it even gets going. That is true. I am one hundred percent in agreement that sludge and hardcore just do not work together. The clash of tempos is too much conflict to be able to remedy, no matter how much of the heavy lifting the riffs do on the record. Still, I must admire the tenacity of Jamey Jasta. Whilst infamous for the less than desirable Hatebreed, and being one-dimensional in his vocal approach, the guy has wrked with seemingly everyone from Dee Snider to Lamb of God to Devin Townsend and of course his two-album collaboration with Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down.

Here, on KoS’ sophomore release he just sounds like an angry child that a sludge band brought to a recording session, and he wouldn’t shut the fuck up the whole time, so they just left his shouting as “vocals”. It is a shame when an album exhibits such potential in the form of those biting riffs, only to be let down by some other central element contending with them. Not that there’s much else going on across the record, the drums are tepid at best (which considering Nick Bellmore was part of Toxic Holocaust at the time is surprising to say the least) and if there’s any bass floating around in here then (Nick’s brother, Charlie) it is lost behind the guitars and vocals.

As a record this is a sorry sounding affair overall. Comments I have read bemoan how quickly this passes by, but for me I could not wait for the record to be over and done with as it was dragging on and on with every song.