Don’t you love it when extreme bands want their listeners to actually think? That is what we have here with the single from Flowers of Hades which has been released in advance of an EP which is out next year. They describe themselves as modern metalcore, but there is definitely djent and death metal in what they are doing, mixed in a way which is very pleasing to this metalhead’s ears. The subject being covered is not a new one, America’s mass shootings, and we commence with news reports of students coming out from schools with their hands up, and then we are into the brutality of the music. This is uncompromising, with more than a hint of straight hardcore in here as well (they would fit in well with fans of {Xile}), yet for all the harshness of the delivery the words are important, so much so that they included the lyrics in an EPK which contains loads of images, most unusual for a young independent act. Well worth reading, now if only someone in the States would take this onboard.
What really makes this work is the amount of contrast and the way it has so many different styles, even using some synths at times, with plenty of guitar and bluster but also loads of finesse, you just must look for it. There are times when it is a wall of sound, an assault on the senses with a vicious groove, and then others where the music takes a step back before coming at the listener again. There are times within the arrangement when it feels there are two separate streams, one half the speed of the other, and then they join together. Then when they switch into death they slow it right down, a really interesting approach. Fresh, brutal, exciting, let’s hope they come up to Auckland soon.
Rating: 8/10
