Bullethole - Incarceration
2003 - Black Lotus Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Black Lotus website.
Metalcore mixed with a soupcon of thrash, served with a very occasional dash of nu-metal-esque melody, wrapped up in a muddy but punchy production. Or, to put it another way, The Haunted wrestling with Hatebreed while Soulfly look on in bemusement. Whichever description takes your fancy, that's pretty much Bullethole summed up.
There's a lot more of metalcore than the other elements to their sound though, and occasionally there's more than a little resemblance to Hatebreed (in fact, the intro to 'Drowned' sounds so close to the intro to Hatebreed's 'Smash Your Enemies' that I'm surprised Universal haven't sent the lawyers in yet...), but generally this is agreeably brutal, well-written stuff.
The problem lies in Bullethole's blend of metalcore and thrash - thrash fans may be put off by the breakdowns, while metalcore fans may be put off by the complexity of some of the riffs. There's something of an identity crisis going on here, and one that may take a little work to resolve. However, put that behind you and the stomping aggression behind tracks such as 'Liar' or the killer riffage inherent in other songs such as the album's title track should keep everybody headbanging and circle-pitting for long enough to put aside their differences and just get lost in the palpable anger spilling from the CD.
7/10
2003 - Black Lotus Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Black Lotus website.
Metalcore mixed with a soupcon of thrash, served with a very occasional dash of nu-metal-esque melody, wrapped up in a muddy but punchy production. Or, to put it another way, The Haunted wrestling with Hatebreed while Soulfly look on in bemusement. Whichever description takes your fancy, that's pretty much Bullethole summed up.
There's a lot more of metalcore than the other elements to their sound though, and occasionally there's more than a little resemblance to Hatebreed (in fact, the intro to 'Drowned' sounds so close to the intro to Hatebreed's 'Smash Your Enemies' that I'm surprised Universal haven't sent the lawyers in yet...), but generally this is agreeably brutal, well-written stuff.
The problem lies in Bullethole's blend of metalcore and thrash - thrash fans may be put off by the breakdowns, while metalcore fans may be put off by the complexity of some of the riffs. There's something of an identity crisis going on here, and one that may take a little work to resolve. However, put that behind you and the stomping aggression behind tracks such as 'Liar' or the killer riffage inherent in other songs such as the album's title track should keep everybody headbanging and circle-pitting for long enough to put aside their differences and just get lost in the palpable anger spilling from the CD.
7/10
