Winds of Plague - Decimate the Weak
Century Media Records - CD9977072 - January 28, 2008
By Jack Deming
Upon receiving this disc and viewing the description and song titles, I was convinced that I was in for yet another carbon copy of the last utterly shit metalcore band I reviewed. First off, the name needs a change. I will never understand metalcore's obsession with words like plague, reprisal, vanity, serenity, etc. Just stop it. In addition, the song titles screamed Arch Enemy full in my face as soon as I saw them ('Anthems of the Apocalypse', 'Legions'?). However, contrary to my judgment made before hearing a note of the music, I was pleasantly surprised by these guys by the end of my first listen.
Winds of Plague effectively use both American metal and hardcore influences as well as catchy European style hooks to make for a really enjoyable sound that eliminates the stale feeling that comes with a metalcore feel and injects some much needed atmosphere into the mix. The keyboard melodies generally closely follow the guitars and at times teeter on the edge of sounding calculated, but I applaud any hardcore band who has the balls to include a keyboard of any type. The vocals are general guttural hardcore fare, but really do work well in the context. At many moments throughout the disc the guitarists reveal their impressive technical abilities, and the drums do what metalcore drums are supposed to do, and hammer away at those bass drums. Most importantly, Winds of Plague have a great sense of composition that is dearly missing in the music of their peers, making them stand decidedly above the rest. Overall pretty damn good for a band being mostly marketed as a typical hardcore/metalcore outfit.
Sadly however, as expected with any metalcore release, Decimate the Weak is of course riddled (although not nearly as much as most bands) with various meaningless tough guy lyrical themes that really get on my nerves, simply because they're so damn unconvincing. Honestly, why even bother sounding angry when it's a undisputed fact that you really have nothing to be angry about. If you did, I daresay you'd have something better to say than "Fuck you, get the fuck out", etc. The rest of the lyrics consist mostly of talking about sticking together in this tough, tough world, making fun of people that the singer does not like through the use of repeated obscenities, and yelling about breaking down walls and such. When certain themes in music become trendy, all of the genuine emotion behind them is lost, and they turn into complete clichés. So congratulations to metalcore and hardcore in general, for successfully wearing out the ideas of anger and aggression in metal music. I stand in awe.
I however remain impressed with Decimate the Weak, and I recommend it to those like myself who have completely lost faith in the metalcore/hardcore scene, because this album is definitely a step in the right direction for this genre that is so heavily weighed down with generic, uninspired garbage.
Official Winds of Plague Myspace
Official Century Media Records Website
Century Media Records - CD9977072 - January 28, 2008
By Jack Deming
Upon receiving this disc and viewing the description and song titles, I was convinced that I was in for yet another carbon copy of the last utterly shit metalcore band I reviewed. First off, the name needs a change. I will never understand metalcore's obsession with words like plague, reprisal, vanity, serenity, etc. Just stop it. In addition, the song titles screamed Arch Enemy full in my face as soon as I saw them ('Anthems of the Apocalypse', 'Legions'?). However, contrary to my judgment made before hearing a note of the music, I was pleasantly surprised by these guys by the end of my first listen.
Winds of Plague effectively use both American metal and hardcore influences as well as catchy European style hooks to make for a really enjoyable sound that eliminates the stale feeling that comes with a metalcore feel and injects some much needed atmosphere into the mix. The keyboard melodies generally closely follow the guitars and at times teeter on the edge of sounding calculated, but I applaud any hardcore band who has the balls to include a keyboard of any type. The vocals are general guttural hardcore fare, but really do work well in the context. At many moments throughout the disc the guitarists reveal their impressive technical abilities, and the drums do what metalcore drums are supposed to do, and hammer away at those bass drums. Most importantly, Winds of Plague have a great sense of composition that is dearly missing in the music of their peers, making them stand decidedly above the rest. Overall pretty damn good for a band being mostly marketed as a typical hardcore/metalcore outfit.
Sadly however, as expected with any metalcore release, Decimate the Weak is of course riddled (although not nearly as much as most bands) with various meaningless tough guy lyrical themes that really get on my nerves, simply because they're so damn unconvincing. Honestly, why even bother sounding angry when it's a undisputed fact that you really have nothing to be angry about. If you did, I daresay you'd have something better to say than "Fuck you, get the fuck out", etc. The rest of the lyrics consist mostly of talking about sticking together in this tough, tough world, making fun of people that the singer does not like through the use of repeated obscenities, and yelling about breaking down walls and such. When certain themes in music become trendy, all of the genuine emotion behind them is lost, and they turn into complete clichés. So congratulations to metalcore and hardcore in general, for successfully wearing out the ideas of anger and aggression in metal music. I stand in awe.
I however remain impressed with Decimate the Weak, and I recommend it to those like myself who have completely lost faith in the metalcore/hardcore scene, because this album is definitely a step in the right direction for this genre that is so heavily weighed down with generic, uninspired garbage.
Official Winds of Plague Myspace
Official Century Media Records Website
