Bastardized Recordings (2012)

Here is a short review for the ones who hate this genre with a fascist passion: this a metalcore album through and through. There, if you can't digest metalcore in any amount you might as well stop reading here. Otherwise, read on.

This is a third CD from these Italian metalcorers with rawness of early Prong or Pissing Razors (remember them?) with the heavyass guitars sitting somewhere between The Accacia Strain and All Shall Perish, energy and passionate spirit of early Diecast or Hatebreed, even though the opener is borrowing heavily from God Forbid's "Bat The Angels (Earthsblood/Roadrunner/2009). So it is fairly certain Awaken Demons are not likely to stand trial for excessive originality any time soon.

Most songs are cut from the same cloth but some are better than others. "Under The Glass", for instance, recalls the criminally underrated "Low" by Testament, it's got that wailing Testament guitar riff, but what makes this track particularly interesting to me is the raw emotion I hear in the vocals where they complement the music perfectly, an expression of feeling of betrayal by whom you trusted the most, very convincing I might add. "Phoenix", another standout, has a very cool riff that mimics a machine gun, yes, nothing Pantera or Machine Head have not done better before them, but a cool riff nevertheless.

I still would rate this album 4.5/6 were it not for a glaring flaw: excessive profanity. See, not that I am a puritan, far from it. Words like "cunt", "shit", "ass" and especially the "mother of all curse words" to borrow from Christmas Story, the wonderful word "fuck" by which you can express just about anything under the sun by marrying it to various adjectives, is effective only when used SPARRINGLY. I am going to take you seriously if you tell me to "get the fuck out of here" but if you say something like: "Fuck you you motherfucking fuck you fucking lowlife asshole motherfucker, etc." I'm going to laugh my ass off because you sound like an idiot.

That is why I find that form of expression immature and hard to swallow or ignore from the second track on the album. This could have been balanced out with some actual meaningful lyrics, sort of like what Pantera would do on "Vulgar..." but NOT what Max Cavalera presented on "Roots" or a few of his Soulfly albums. Another example of such unnecessary overkill is Slayer on "God Hates Us All" or Korn's "Life is Peachy".

As for Awaken Demons, I enjoy their debut and I think they have a great potential. As long as they chuck the teenage asinine lyrics and trade them for meaning like the one in "Under The Glass", they will have a fan in me, indeed.

www.awakendemons.com
www.bastardized.net

Rating: 4 / 6

Composed by Dethster4life