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A Perfect Murder
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Strength Through Vengeance
Victory Records
Release: 7/26/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Morley Seaver
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This five-piece was formed in Montreal back in 2000 and after
recording three albums (one of them for Victory Records); they
hit the road opening for a host of bands on a grueling US tour.
Regrouping after shifting a few members, the band eventually
found vocalist Kevin Randel via a Blabbermouth-posted
ad.
This brings us to Strength Through Vengeance,
their new release. I had to listen to this a few times before I
started to like it. Don't know what it was, maybe the vocals,
but now I find myself playing it often. Not having heard their
previous work, I don't have anything to compare it to, but
apparently this is miles away from the other records. This is
pretty solid metalcore with enough of a hint of
Pantera.
The title cut punches its way out of the stereo speakers like
Mike Tyson with a headache. There's no doubt founder Carl
Bouchard can play guitar as he burns up the fretboard on this
track in a blazing, albeit short solo. "Black Hate Machine"
follows and sounds a bit like a slightly slower version of the
previous cut. "Wake Up and Die" is a good cut but vocalist
Randel sings a couple of lines that seem totally out of place
with his growling.
"Snake Eyes" is one of the better cuts here with more defined
melody lines. "Path of Resistance" starts off with a slow
menacing pace before lurching into thrashiness. The rest of
the cuts start to blend together a bit, with the exception of the
instrumental "Suffocation of Thought," which has another
slow-building intro.
The major thing I noticed about this release was the bass is
MIA all the way through. You can barely hear it, although the
guitars and drums come through fine. What gives with the
mix? At any rate, this is a good but not great record. Perhaps
with a bit of seasoning on the road, the guys will bond together
and come back with a real burner. |
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