Glass Casket - We Are Gathered Here Today
2004 - Abacus Recordings
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Abacus Recordings website.
Metalcore's recent explosion into commercial acceptability has seen a rise in the number of watered-down, emo-core, microphone-hugging trendwhores taking what was once a vital, punishing area of music and fashioning it into an endless parade of frat-boys with 'issues' crying about their girlfriends. Personally, I'm sick of it. And by the sounds of things, Glass Casket are too.
Coming on like some unholy amalgamation of '...And Then You'll Beg'-era Cryptopsy, Between The Buried And Me and Meshuggah, Glass Casket's technical metalcore draws heavily from the more deathly areas of metal, characterised in Adam Cody's main vocal peformance consisting of choked death growls and Blake Richardson's astonishingly spazz-tastic drumming. The riffage from Blake Tuten and Dustie Waring veers chaotically from full-on math-grind gymnastics to brutal hardcore beat-downs, through to astonishingly hooky melodies. Sid Menon lays down a suitably gnarly bass contribution while adding his throat to the mix.
Highlights on the album are 'Chew Your Fingers' and 'In Between The Sheets' - mainly, 'In Between The Sheets', for the simple fact that immediately after a math/noise freak out, the band drop into a sublimely uplifting, melodious passage where Adam Cody gets to show off his clean singing credentials - it's a surprising, highly effective leap between styles, and crucially, it doesn't outstay it's welcome - the band seem to have realised that what we want from metalcore isn't vocal harmonies and laboured acoustic meanderings, but aural punishment of the most brutal order, and so they immediately spin right back into sonically beating our heads against a wall. 'Chew Your Fingers' almost casually throws a total power metal solo (full reverb and everything) into a 3:11 whirlwind of technicality, which somehow seems to fit perfectly.
An exciting, promising and refreshing debut from a supremely skilled band - well worth your time.
9.5/10
2004 - Abacus Recordings
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Abacus Recordings website.
Metalcore's recent explosion into commercial acceptability has seen a rise in the number of watered-down, emo-core, microphone-hugging trendwhores taking what was once a vital, punishing area of music and fashioning it into an endless parade of frat-boys with 'issues' crying about their girlfriends. Personally, I'm sick of it. And by the sounds of things, Glass Casket are too.
Coming on like some unholy amalgamation of '...And Then You'll Beg'-era Cryptopsy, Between The Buried And Me and Meshuggah, Glass Casket's technical metalcore draws heavily from the more deathly areas of metal, characterised in Adam Cody's main vocal peformance consisting of choked death growls and Blake Richardson's astonishingly spazz-tastic drumming. The riffage from Blake Tuten and Dustie Waring veers chaotically from full-on math-grind gymnastics to brutal hardcore beat-downs, through to astonishingly hooky melodies. Sid Menon lays down a suitably gnarly bass contribution while adding his throat to the mix.
Highlights on the album are 'Chew Your Fingers' and 'In Between The Sheets' - mainly, 'In Between The Sheets', for the simple fact that immediately after a math/noise freak out, the band drop into a sublimely uplifting, melodious passage where Adam Cody gets to show off his clean singing credentials - it's a surprising, highly effective leap between styles, and crucially, it doesn't outstay it's welcome - the band seem to have realised that what we want from metalcore isn't vocal harmonies and laboured acoustic meanderings, but aural punishment of the most brutal order, and so they immediately spin right back into sonically beating our heads against a wall. 'Chew Your Fingers' almost casually throws a total power metal solo (full reverb and everything) into a 3:11 whirlwind of technicality, which somehow seems to fit perfectly.
An exciting, promising and refreshing debut from a supremely skilled band - well worth your time.
9.5/10
