Review; Thy Art Is Murder - Hate

Track Listing:

1. Reign Of Darkness
2. The Purest Strain Of Hate
3. Vile Creations
4. Shadow Of Eternal Sin
5. Immolation
6. Infinite Forms
7. Dead Sun
8. Gates Of Misery
9. Defective Breed
10. Doomed From Birth

This Australian five-piece have been making considerable waves, even in the UK recently, which is admirable for a Deathcore band these days. Deathcore remains something of a dirty word among many of today's metal fans. However, as with any record, it's best to listen before you judge (Except the new Paramore album, believe me!!!)

As a side-note, before I get started on the music; That album cover is fucking awesome!

As soon as the album opens you can hear the Whitechapel influence all over the band's sound, and though the material on show is relatively impressive, this listener cannot escape the feeling that Thy Art Is Murder feel like another in a long line of Deathcore bands that try to claim they're playing the genre differently from their peers, but mostly fail to uphold the claim.

The inclusion of the odd guitar solo here and there is a welcome addition to the Deathcore formula, but the vocals, though impressive at both the high screams and the growls, are not very distinctive in style or sound. At times the lyrics are quite hard to make out, too. The rhythm section is tight as hell, with their drummer showing some serious chops. The Deathcore standard down-tuned riffs come across as quite throwaway at times, and feel very formulaic. To be fair however, the breakdowns are impressive and well placed. Especially the one found in 'Shadow Of Eternal Sin'. The production job on the album is also very good, despite the aforementioned problem making out the lyrics.

The album is clearly not without merit; any out-and-out Deathcore fan will enjoy this to no end, and there are some truly memorable guitar leads among the constant chaos. The album is also very quick of pace, to the point that if the music was a more original it'd be an exciting record. Live, I'm sure this would be considerably pit-inducing in small venues, it is a brutal as fuck album after all! To me, however, the hype surrounding this band seems a bit unjustified. Frustratingly, I feel there could be potential in this bands future, if they make themselves stand out with their music rather than their geographical location.

6.5/10