CD Review: Grave Maker - Ghosts Among Men

Grave Maker
Ghosts Among Men
3.75/5

Listen To: Laid To Rest
Skip It: Nothing, every song is along the same lines.

Vancouver's Grave Maker, NWHC at its finest, have recently acquired a spot on Chicago-based Victory Records for their second full-length, Ghosts Among Men. The record is powerfully punchy, largely influenced by new style metal-hardcore which flooded the scene after eighties bands like Black Flag or Negative Approach were done punking around.

"Hell Followed" covers all the new hardcore bases, beginning with a fast paced intro, and then splitting the near minute and a half track with a crashing breakdown. Third song "Melt To The Mold" takes its title to heart. Guitars chug along at a mid-tempo pace, diverting here and there with quick metal fills for a wholly core picture. Jon on vocals yells his lungs out to the anthem lyrics, his voice nodding at Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed's angry, non-screaming style here and for much of the record. "Seducer" and "Why We Fight" progress along similar lines, full of hair-raising chants and steady palm-muted guitar lines.

Ghosts Among Men takes from more recent hardcore schools mid-disc with songs "Stronghold" and "Vlad The Impaler,” offering thrashy, Terror-style guitar sprays and heavy metal fills. Final track "Never Be Like You" then contrasts the entire album with a clean, twangy guitar line. Don't fret though, Grave Maker doesn't go skacore for a lone song, but tastefully exemplifies how they're not a one-tone hardcore group.

There are visions of mid-nineties Coney Island High on Ghosts Among Men, like you are catching Madball in the prime of their anti-stadium grittiness. Distortion is high, but not overpowering; the song structures follow underground hardcore's straightforwardness, straying little for experimentation. If you respect the definitive sound of newschool hardcore, this record is right up your darkened alley.

Track Listing:

1. Ghosts Among Men
2. Hell Followed
3. Melt To The Mold
4. Seducer
5. Why We Fight
6. Stronghold
7. Vlad The Impaler
8. Laid To Rest
9. Dead Of Alive
10. Sever Thy Head
11. Broken Bones
12. Never Be Like You

Published by Tangible Sounds

CD Review: Whitechapel - A New Era Of Corruption

Whitechapel
A New Era Of Corruption
3/5

Listen To: Reprogrammed To Hate
Skip It: End Of Flesh

For a relatively young band, Whitechapel has seen a huge amount of success since starting up in 2006. You can tell by the masses of Whitechapel t-shirts sticking out more and more at metal shows - they are instant fan favourites. With such a commanding presence in the scene, these Knoxville young'uns have a daunting role to fill with their latest album, A New Era Of Corruption.

This is the third album in a line of standard death metal from Whitechapel. Beating double bass and racing blast beat drums support technical tri-guitar battles, and continuous throaty growls coupled with thrashing screams. Along these lines, you can assume Whitechapel has an unmistakably categorized death metal sound.

Aside from some the untraditional death metal delay guitar effects on "Reprogrammed To Hate" and "Prayer Of Mockery" that contrast the rest of the record, A New Era Of Corruption dishes out tell-tale death techniques. "End Of Flesh" is a prime example: demonic growls, elevating guitar leads, and a classic, overworked death acoustic bridge. "Unnerving" opens with a minor note hell-orchestra that we've all heard a thousand times.

There are also treats for listeners on A New Era Of Corruption. The entire disc is a showcase of technicality, like "A Future Corrupt" with its mathematical fills and riffs. And there is a welcomed sense of death mayhem projecting from all angles. However, while punchy, hellish, and understandably ear catching for death metal devotees, this record lacks stand alone originality. When a band captures the scene's attention, there needs to be proof of valour within their musical pudding. For Whitechapel, quickly reaching the centre of the metal sphere, I still don't feel obliged to jump on the bandwagon.

Track Listing:

1. Devolver
2. Breeding Violence
3. The Darkest Day Of Man
4. Reprogrammed To Hate
5. End Of Flesh
6. Unnerving
7. A Future Corrupt
8. Prayer of Mockery
9. Murder Sermon
10. Necromechanical
11. Single File To Dehumanization

Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine