Construcdead Violadead & Wounded
Black Lodge 2005
By Russell Garwood
Swedens Construcdead feature current/ex-members of bands including Face Down, Terror 2000, Soilwork and Darkane. They, unsurprisingly, used to play melodic death/thrash, and the roots of this sound are still apparent on Violadead and the Wounded EP. But along with the albeit highly polished melodeathisms there is now a very strong dose of nu-metal. Sung choruses, angsty lyrics and the downtuned, melodic rhythm section all ring of the genre. That said there are still quite a few heavy elements. The guitars rely on harsh riffs at times, generally in verses, while the vocals show a similar dichotomy. Almost without fail, verses rely on a pretty mid-range growl, while choruses switch to catchy singing. While formulaic, this is effective. The drums are tight and well-performed, if somewhat uninspired, while the bass is powerful, and surprisingly un-nu-metal influenced. All this makes for an accessible, and enjoyable sound, albeit lacking in originality. The production on both releases is excellent.
Voiladead is the bands second full-length, and comprises twelve tracks of the nu/death hybrid, along with a bonus video and two bonus demo songs. Towards the end the album can begin to feel samey, and had no longevity, but otherwise this is a very listenable release. One for nu-metal and polished melodeath fans only. The Wounded EP sees Construcdead take one of the catchiest tracks off Voiladead, remaster it and put it on a CD with three other tracks. As such this is very similar to its predecessor, but perhaps slightly more death-metal orientated, with less sung choruses and more traditional melodeath guitars on the new tracks. At only four tracks this is shorter and sweeter than the full album. Hence if youre interested in the band but unsure, try this CD out first.
Voiladead 6/10
Wounded EP 6.5/10
Official Construcdead website
Official Black Lodge website
Black Lodge 2005
By Russell Garwood
Swedens Construcdead feature current/ex-members of bands including Face Down, Terror 2000, Soilwork and Darkane. They, unsurprisingly, used to play melodic death/thrash, and the roots of this sound are still apparent on Violadead and the Wounded EP. But along with the albeit highly polished melodeathisms there is now a very strong dose of nu-metal. Sung choruses, angsty lyrics and the downtuned, melodic rhythm section all ring of the genre. That said there are still quite a few heavy elements. The guitars rely on harsh riffs at times, generally in verses, while the vocals show a similar dichotomy. Almost without fail, verses rely on a pretty mid-range growl, while choruses switch to catchy singing. While formulaic, this is effective. The drums are tight and well-performed, if somewhat uninspired, while the bass is powerful, and surprisingly un-nu-metal influenced. All this makes for an accessible, and enjoyable sound, albeit lacking in originality. The production on both releases is excellent.
Voiladead is the bands second full-length, and comprises twelve tracks of the nu/death hybrid, along with a bonus video and two bonus demo songs. Towards the end the album can begin to feel samey, and had no longevity, but otherwise this is a very listenable release. One for nu-metal and polished melodeath fans only. The Wounded EP sees Construcdead take one of the catchiest tracks off Voiladead, remaster it and put it on a CD with three other tracks. As such this is very similar to its predecessor, but perhaps slightly more death-metal orientated, with less sung choruses and more traditional melodeath guitars on the new tracks. At only four tracks this is shorter and sweeter than the full album. Hence if youre interested in the band but unsure, try this CD out first.
Voiladead 6/10
Wounded EP 6.5/10
Official Construcdead website
Official Black Lodge website
