With Passion - In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil
Earache Records - MOSH300CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
If anyone was expecting Earache Records to bring out some retrospective compilation or box set as their 300th release, then they're gonna be disappointed - however, followers of extreme music and those looking for a seriously teeth-rattling display of technical intensity are going to be more than pleased with the noted label's choice of birthday present... In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil is a re-release of the second EP from grind-inflected technical metalcore spazzfreaks With Passion, complete with two previously unreleased bonus tracks and all of the original release's spine-tingling riff-laden intricacy intact. Imagine the kind of noise that would be made by Cryptopsy and Between The Buried And Me if they were rolling down a hill in a funeral hearse, with Bleeding Through's keyboard player having been thrown out just before... and you're somewhere close to imagining the full-throttle mix of guitar virtuosity, song-writing intricacy, sonorous melody and sheer grinding heaviness of this release.
Atmospheric, sweeping keyboard countermelodies fill out the peripheraries of a sound filled to bursting with scattergun, flailing drum patterns and jaw-droppingly dextruous guitar and bass work - hammer-ons, sweep-picks, discordant progressions and occasionally just straight pummelling power chords come together in a maelstrom of sounds that never become blurred or repetetive, thanks to the hooks and melodies locked within the chaos. For example, the 4:10 mark of fifth track 'Forlorn Hope' becomes memorable by dint of containing the fastest blastbeat I've ever heard performed by a human drummer in an already pretty intense passage - it's about eight-seconds of savagery that shatters even the most docile mindset instantly. Also, opener 'Train Wreck Orchestra' features some tremolo-picked lead melodies from the 1-minute mark that burrow into the brain quite nicely.
Sadly, this isn't quite a perfect release - for one thing, there's a keyboard instrumental ('The Scorpions Dance') that flings all of the intertwining dexterity and mind-bending songcraft out of the window in exchange for two and a half minutes of what sounds like the introduction to a Cradle Of Filth concept album - not good, especially considering the clean guitar instrumental 'The Prophecies of Hellfire' is a charmingly melodic, playfully composed breather before 'A Coniferous War' smashes the listeners head against the speakers once again. Also, the vocalist sticks resolutely with his black-metallish hoarse/strangled screams throughout the disc, when the more surging, epic moments of the music could have benefited from some variety.
However, these minor gripes aside, this is a perfectly accomplished release from a group who are mingling the epic and emotional tendencies of modern hardcore with the technicality and rage of the best extreme metal to astonishing ends. Look forward to hearing more from them in the future.
9/10
With Passion Official Website
Earache Records Website
Earache Records - MOSH300CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
If anyone was expecting Earache Records to bring out some retrospective compilation or box set as their 300th release, then they're gonna be disappointed - however, followers of extreme music and those looking for a seriously teeth-rattling display of technical intensity are going to be more than pleased with the noted label's choice of birthday present... In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil is a re-release of the second EP from grind-inflected technical metalcore spazzfreaks With Passion, complete with two previously unreleased bonus tracks and all of the original release's spine-tingling riff-laden intricacy intact. Imagine the kind of noise that would be made by Cryptopsy and Between The Buried And Me if they were rolling down a hill in a funeral hearse, with Bleeding Through's keyboard player having been thrown out just before... and you're somewhere close to imagining the full-throttle mix of guitar virtuosity, song-writing intricacy, sonorous melody and sheer grinding heaviness of this release.
Atmospheric, sweeping keyboard countermelodies fill out the peripheraries of a sound filled to bursting with scattergun, flailing drum patterns and jaw-droppingly dextruous guitar and bass work - hammer-ons, sweep-picks, discordant progressions and occasionally just straight pummelling power chords come together in a maelstrom of sounds that never become blurred or repetetive, thanks to the hooks and melodies locked within the chaos. For example, the 4:10 mark of fifth track 'Forlorn Hope' becomes memorable by dint of containing the fastest blastbeat I've ever heard performed by a human drummer in an already pretty intense passage - it's about eight-seconds of savagery that shatters even the most docile mindset instantly. Also, opener 'Train Wreck Orchestra' features some tremolo-picked lead melodies from the 1-minute mark that burrow into the brain quite nicely.
Sadly, this isn't quite a perfect release - for one thing, there's a keyboard instrumental ('The Scorpions Dance') that flings all of the intertwining dexterity and mind-bending songcraft out of the window in exchange for two and a half minutes of what sounds like the introduction to a Cradle Of Filth concept album - not good, especially considering the clean guitar instrumental 'The Prophecies of Hellfire' is a charmingly melodic, playfully composed breather before 'A Coniferous War' smashes the listeners head against the speakers once again. Also, the vocalist sticks resolutely with his black-metallish hoarse/strangled screams throughout the disc, when the more surging, epic moments of the music could have benefited from some variety.
However, these minor gripes aside, this is a perfectly accomplished release from a group who are mingling the epic and emotional tendencies of modern hardcore with the technicality and rage of the best extreme metal to astonishing ends. Look forward to hearing more from them in the future.
9/10
With Passion Official Website
Earache Records Website
