4 our 5 metal monkeys is good for me! Thanks man!
Band:
Vehemence
Album:
Helping the World to See
Record Company:
Metal Blade Records
Writer:
Zach Palmer
Vehemence is one of those bands who have just seemed to blindside the metal community lately. It seems that about a few weeks ago, Vehemence had their name everywhere. Very curious as to why they were all of a sudden so popular, I eagerly listened to their new disc. At first, I was very disappointed by all the hype; it sounded like any other death metal band to me. Not a BAD disc by any means, but I just didnt see where all the fuss was. However, I listened to it a couple more times through, read the lyrics, and came to a very different conclusion.
Vehemence is just one of those bands that does things right. They put enough melody into the music to keep it interesting, but without turning it into one of those half-assed Gothenburg bands. However, there is enough pure death metal here for even the most br00tal and tr00. They just know how to write a good song, and how to use the death metal vocals both texturally (with Nathan doing the typical guttural death metal vocals and bassist Mark doing the screaming) and rhythmically. The lyrics are also unique to the band, as I havent heard this good of writing for a long time. There are songs like Kill For God and Spirit of the Soldier which both address the issues of war (both holy wars and political wars respectively), as well as Trinity Broadcasting which is about televangelists that preach on TV with their only goal being the almighty dollar. Then there is one of my favorite songs on the whole disc; You Dont Have to Be Afraid Anymore. This is a great song both lyrically (a true story about a Phoenix cop) and musically. They do what most death metal bands would never do: They start the song as a ballad. The intro to this song, along with the following instrumental Alone in Your Presence, show that this band isnt afraid to explore other avenues of emotion and, dare I say, brutality.
The only thing that bothered me about this album is the opening song. It seemed far too typical and boring to lead such a great album with. It put me in the wrong mindset and it was much more difficult to get into what this album really is about. Even so, its a great album with some cool extras (did I mention the bonus Multimedia Vehemence timeline? Just put the disc in your computer.). Overall, this album proved my first impressions wrong. This is a great disc for anyone who wants a good piece of melodic yet brutal death metal.
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