A man by the name Chris Barnes from Hellride Music reviewed our God Was Created album. It it is not the Chris we all know!
http://www.hellridemusic.com/bands/v/vehemence_review.shtml
I'll give Vehemence credit right off the bat. For the first 15 seconds of first track "Made For Her Jesus" I thought for sure the presser screwed-up and pressed an acoustically-laced Ricky Martin CD or summat. It wasn't until Nathan Gearhart's uber-gutteral death belch kicked in that it made sense. Old Man Barnes got stumped. I'm a man, and I and I'll step up and admit it. The bastards threw me a curve ball.
Vehemence aren't your standard kick-ya-in-the-nuts-right-from-the-start brutal death band, and they aren't exactly your Maiden-esque melodic death band. It's not Stockholm, Gothenburg or Tampa, but there's elements of all those sounds within God Was Created. I even hear a progressive vibe in the arrangements, both in the guitar work of John Chavez and Bjorn Dannov and in Jason Keesecker's piano and synth arrangements. Death metal with ambiance?! Yeah, sounds goofy, but Vehemence pull it off. The songs themselves are extremely intricate - piano, screams, guttural vox, synth, acoustic guitars, twin guitar harmonies, sudden tempo changes... there's a lot going on. And with six members, there had better be. You ever try to split gig money six ways?!
The fact that God Was Created is a concept album is another nod to the progheads of yore. But I'm pretty confident this concept would make the old guard progsters vomit. Hell, it even made me feel nauseous. I'm not going to give away the plot in respect to the band, but suffice it to say vaginas, molestation, fucking, killing, suicide and Jesus H. Christ are all part of the plot. There is something here to offend most everyone. I also think this is the first time the word "clit" has been uttered in death metal vocals to my knowledge. How progressive.
The art contained within the booklet, courtesy of noted tattoo artist Evil Dave, is also of particular interest. If not for sheer offensiveness, then for the mind behind the art. Well done, but not for those without iron constitutions.
My only problem with God Was Created, like most death metal albums of today, is the increasingly obligatory use of triggers. I sometimes feel like I'm listening to a metronome instead of a human being. Fortunately, there are enough lush/brutal juxtapositions to keep my mind elsewhere. Not a huge detraction, but a small chink in the armor of what is a uniquely arranged and performed album.
http://www.hellridemusic.com/bands/v/vehemence_review.shtml
I'll give Vehemence credit right off the bat. For the first 15 seconds of first track "Made For Her Jesus" I thought for sure the presser screwed-up and pressed an acoustically-laced Ricky Martin CD or summat. It wasn't until Nathan Gearhart's uber-gutteral death belch kicked in that it made sense. Old Man Barnes got stumped. I'm a man, and I and I'll step up and admit it. The bastards threw me a curve ball.
Vehemence aren't your standard kick-ya-in-the-nuts-right-from-the-start brutal death band, and they aren't exactly your Maiden-esque melodic death band. It's not Stockholm, Gothenburg or Tampa, but there's elements of all those sounds within God Was Created. I even hear a progressive vibe in the arrangements, both in the guitar work of John Chavez and Bjorn Dannov and in Jason Keesecker's piano and synth arrangements. Death metal with ambiance?! Yeah, sounds goofy, but Vehemence pull it off. The songs themselves are extremely intricate - piano, screams, guttural vox, synth, acoustic guitars, twin guitar harmonies, sudden tempo changes... there's a lot going on. And with six members, there had better be. You ever try to split gig money six ways?!
The fact that God Was Created is a concept album is another nod to the progheads of yore. But I'm pretty confident this concept would make the old guard progsters vomit. Hell, it even made me feel nauseous. I'm not going to give away the plot in respect to the band, but suffice it to say vaginas, molestation, fucking, killing, suicide and Jesus H. Christ are all part of the plot. There is something here to offend most everyone. I also think this is the first time the word "clit" has been uttered in death metal vocals to my knowledge. How progressive.
The art contained within the booklet, courtesy of noted tattoo artist Evil Dave, is also of particular interest. If not for sheer offensiveness, then for the mind behind the art. Well done, but not for those without iron constitutions.
My only problem with God Was Created, like most death metal albums of today, is the increasingly obligatory use of triggers. I sometimes feel like I'm listening to a metronome instead of a human being. Fortunately, there are enough lush/brutal juxtapositions to keep my mind elsewhere. Not a huge detraction, but a small chink in the armor of what is a uniquely arranged and performed album.
