Hey, hey, welcome back to the thrashiest song review series on the globe! This is our tenth week! Cue the happy birthday music.
This week we're tackling Massachusetts Metalcore veterans Aftershock!
If you know metalcore you know this man -
That man up there is guitarist, drummer, vocalist, producer, and metalcore legend Adam motherfucking Dutkiewicz. He's probably most famous for being the lead guitarist of Killswitch Engage, (which he also founded, played skins for, and does most of the backup vocals and lyrics for)
This is one of his first metalcore projects. This band and fellow Massachusetts hardcore group Overcast eventually splintered into two different legendary bands (Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall) and went on to influence the sound of the Massachusetts scene and metalcore as a whole. These guys are the grandaddies of modern metalcore. Every band out in middle America that sounds like a cheap As I Laying Clone, wouldn't be here without these guys (and a few other bands)
As for the lineup, ya boy Adam is on the axe. His brother Tobias, is taking care of vocal duties. Joel Stroetzel and Tom Gomes, the founding guitarist and drummer of Killswitch are on those same instruments here. And some guy named Chris Fortin is on bass. He was a sound engineer.
For Kataklysm.
Y'all know I love KSE. With three out of the five founding members, will Aftershock hold up? Let's find out - (Also, all of these songs are off of their second album Through the Looking Glass.)
This is an instrumental track that takes that creepy, euphoric atmosphere from the last song's intro and ramps it up to eleven. I can't really do it justice with words.
And at this point, I guess it's time to address the elephant in the room. This album is based (at least metaphorically) on Alice in Wonderland. It really juxtaposes all the references with some creepy shit though. Which I guess is justified because Lewis Carroll was very likely a creep, himself.
Case in point the album art. What the fuck is up with Alice's face?
This is one of his first metalcore projects. This band and fellow Massachusetts hardcore group Overcast eventually splintered into two different legendary bands (Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall) and went on to influence the sound of the Massachusetts scene and metalcore as a whole. These guys are the grandaddies of modern metalcore. Every band out in middle America that sounds like a cheap As I Laying Clone, wouldn't be here without these guys (and a few other bands)
As for the lineup, ya boy Adam is on the axe. His brother Tobias, is taking care of vocal duties. Joel Stroetzel and Tom Gomes, the founding guitarist and drummer of Killswitch are on those same instruments here. And some guy named Chris Fortin is on bass. He was a sound engineer.
For Kataklysm.
If you haven't blown out at least one speaker listening to Kataklysm, you ain't doing it right...
Y'all know I love KSE. With three out of the five founding members, will Aftershock hold up? Let's find out - (Also, all of these songs are off of their second album Through the Looking Glass.)
Prelude to Forever
© Devils Head Records
This is one of the dopest metalcore tracks I've heard in a while. As someone pointed out in the comments of the YouTube video, this feels like a precursor to Killswitch Engage's first few albums, in particular their self-titled EP.
You've got the harsh vocals. You've got the multiple breakdowns just littered with abusive chugging and double bass. There's a winding guitar riff a few seconds in that feels like a warning of something ominous around the bend. The only thing missing here is a chorus with a few cleans. Also, this is a perfect case of setting an atmosphere with a track. This song feels creepy, violent and angry all at the same time. This is what metalcore used to be.
Through the Looking Glass
This is an instrumental track that takes that creepy, euphoric atmosphere from the last song's intro and ramps it up to eleven. I can't really do it justice with words.
And at this point, I guess it's time to address the elephant in the room. This album is based (at least metaphorically) on Alice in Wonderland. It really juxtaposes all the references with some creepy shit though. Which I guess is justified because Lewis Carroll was very likely a creep, himself.
Case in point the album art. What the fuck is up with Alice's face?
Jabberwocky
I really don't want to keep comparing this band to other bands, but Jesus Christ, this song sounds exactly like Shadows Fall. This just goes to show you how much these guys influenced what the Massachusetts scene eventually became.
This track feels like pure chaos. The drums and the bass are perfectly mixed so they pound hard. Every time Adam D and Tobias scream at the same time it sounds like a soundbite of an insane asylum. The way the tempo speeds up halfway through just amps up the chaotic feeling of this song. I will admit that I didn't much like the two minute calm outro. It sounded good, but it felt like a lackluster end to a fiery track.
The lyrics are about a fierce monster that feeds off flames and destroys worlds.
Yeah, I guess that checks out.
My Own Invention
This one is way different. It's the only track so far that features any form of clean chorus (In the form of Adam D talking). The brief guitar interlude after the intro sounds all too familiar. If I haven't heard those same notes on every single Killswitch Engage album, I'm deaf.
These guys had a fun time making this one. The way Toby and Adam take turns screaming during the outro is fucking hilarious. This is also the only track I could find a live performance of. And they are indeed having a good fucking time.
Infinite Conclusion
This track is definitely the heaviest. The drum and bass intro is something right out of an Anthrax song. Tobias' snarling is so nasty it sounded like grindcore for a little bit. Stroetzel plays this weird riff all throughout. It's also pretty easy to miss but Adam D displays some nasty gutturals under the entirety of each chorus. It sounds like a whole new instrument. There's a weird sound throughout that sound like someone knocking on wood. And then it all ends with carnival fanfare.
Nothing creepy here. Nothing at all.
Awaking the Dream
And that fanfare leads into the last track. It's an instrumental, that starts off pretty calm. Joel and Adam are playing a calm song. Then the keys kick in. And then the screams. And then that sound from when you move your finger up the guitar string too fast.
The one that sounds like a zipper breaking off ...
And this track is five minutes of that. Creepy noises and calm guitar playing. It wraps everything up in a fuzzy, Boston sepia-toned bow.
Final Verdict / What Do I Think?
This is a good band. This sounds like early Killswitch Engage / Shadow Falls with a different vocalist. The only thing is, they did it first. Adam D and Joel Stroetzel make for an awesome guitar duo. Adam D and his brother are perfect on vocals. My only complaint is that the vocals were mixed terribly (Likely intentionally). They were so muddy, I couldn't understand a single word, even with the lyrics right in front of me.
Unfortunately Aftershock has been disbanded since 2004. Toby is hard at work with Lego (He even wrote a few Bionicle comics!) and no one seems to know what the hell happened to Tom Gomes after he left Killswitch. So we probably ain't getting no reunion. Fingers crossed for a remaster, at the very least. I'd eat that shit up.
Join us next week when we tackle a guitar god's jazzy side project Alex Skolnick Trio!
Adam Dutkiewicz Picture © 2009 Jon O'Gara Photography
Aftershock Picture © 1999 Devils Head Records
Alex Skolnick Trio Picture © 2018 Palmetto+
Carnival Picture © 2014 bobnotk
Fast Guitar Playing © 2019 iStockPhoto
Jabberwocky Picture © 2018 iStock
SpongeBob Meme © 2002 Nickelodeon Animation Pictures
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