That's right I'm fucking back. What the fuck happened to the world? One fucking pandemic and they shut EVERYTHING down? Wowee, this is insane. What happened to the good ol' days of the Black Plague when we would nonchalantly spread that shit to each other like it was candy? Nowadays, that'll get you fifteen to twenty... (I wish I was joking.)
Anyways we left off with one of the laziest bands of all time. I thought I liked them but having to analyze their songs made me realize how fucking lazy they were. We're doing none of that shit today. Cause we're tackling OG Deathcore pioneers ALL SHALL PERISH!
Hell yeah. These guys are the fucking Black Sabbath of Deathcore. All the repetitive, one-and-done shit that every other so-called Deathcore band on Bandcamp is doing now, these guys were doing it first and best. I'm talking insane blast beats. Multiple vocal styles. Riffing that will smack your jaw onto the floor. Breakdowns that will make your heart stop. Piano solos and weird movie samples. All Shall Perish were some of the first to do it.
I may sound like my mouth is full of dick but I'm honestly excited to be doing this. So let's hop right the fuck into it!
This week we're going to be looking at The Price of Existence and next week we'll tackle This Is Where It Ends.
Eradication
© Nuclear Blast Records
Damn. What the hell do I say? I told you this wasn't your nephew's deathcore. Just 40 seconds and and we've already heard screeching, growling and gang vocals. Eddie Hermida screams like a monster. The axeman is playing the perfect melody to accompany this demon of a track. This song feels filthy going into my ears. The guitars have a really crispy tone to them. And the relentless chugging feels somewhat at home here. I still don't know how to describe how I just heard. It was distilled brutality.
Wage Slaves
© Nuclear Blast Records
In case the song titles and the album cover (Or Eddie screaming "Oppression!" eighty times in the last song.) didn't give it away this album is woke as fuck. Almost to the point where the lyrics are sort of edgy.
I guess that's one thing about Deathcore that didn't eventually get better...
Although I don't 100% agree with the message the social commentary doesn't bother me. I'd rather have lyrics about society than about cutting someone to pieces. [cough] Cannibal Corpse [cough].
Just a heads up if you speak pig squeal and don't want to listen to 90 minutes of Bush-era political commentary. Cause that's what you could sum this album up as.
Just a heads up if you speak pig squeal and don't want to listen to 90 minutes of Bush-era political commentary. Cause that's what you could sum this album up as.
The song is decent. This is one of those cases where everything is so on point I can't really say much.
I like how Eddie screams along with the gang vocals. I don't think I've heard anyone do that before. I thought it was weird that the breakdown was so slow, but I imagine you don't really want your audience moshing to a song about wage inequality. That's kind of a bad look.
The Day of Justice
This track really picks up the tempo from Wage Slaves. The guitar work is on point. Especially towards the end when Eddie starts shrieking. The solo felt a bit lackluster but it was definitely there and neither you and I can play it. I also like the way this one slows down and speeds up until it gets to the end. And then you get the trademark chugging and blast beats.
There Is No Business To Be Done on A Done on a Dead Planet
This song features a guy from the band Red Chord (you know I had to stop and check them out.) These guys were doing what The Black Dahlia Murder does today, way back in 2006. I'm talking crazy guitar riffs, weird synths, and the whole nine. And then they became watered down experimental grindcore.
I don't know what the Red Grindchord guy does on this track, (Metallum says he plays guitars on this track, so that's what I'll assume. I honestly don't hear much of a difference.) Their music is pretty woke too, and given the song title, I think it's safe to assume he ghostwrote the song.
Don't get me wrong, though. The song is still pretty brutal. It immediately kicks off with pig-squealing and the guitarist shreds the whole time.
Better Living Through Catastrophe
Oh, hell yeah, this is the All Shall Perish I know. That somber guitar riff getting cut off with a pained "Fuck everything!" No one else sounds like that. The snares sound like gunshots, the bass pounds hard as fuck. And then everything ends with that epic guitar solo. This is definitely the best track off the album so far. It feels way more angry in a regretful way, than angry in an edgy "Fuck you!" way. This one is definitely a stand-out track.
Prisoner of War
Damn. Talk about changing it the fuck up. This doesn't even sound like it came off the same album. The guitarists are riffing faster. Eddie is screaming harder. That spoken interlude caught me way off guard. I wasn't expecting anything like that. And then they take a complete left turn. This one is just different.
I can definitely see a kid listening to this in his garage back in 2006 and wanting to make music like this.
Greyson
This is a short instrumental track. It's very somberly played on a classical guitar. I got lost in thought listening to it. In case you're wondering 'Greyson' is the guitarist's son. He had just been born when they were recording the album.
We Hold These Truths...
Goddammit, these songs are getting more #woke by the minute. And the wokest ones are slapping the hardest. And honestly, I should have said this at the top, but I don't endorse anything they say in this song or any of the other songs on the album. Whether I agree or not is another topic for another blog. (That you can read right here. Heh heh. )
Either way, this shit slaps. Eddie is screaming his heart out. The drummer is pounding the fuck out of the drums. The guitars are just riffing and chugging. And we get the best breakdown of the album. The guitarist jams while Eddie shrieks like a fucking harpy and the drummer blasts off to space. It's insanity. You can fucking hear that this song comes from a place these guys resonate with 100%.
The True Beast
This one once again opens up with a demonic scream from Eddie. The riffing and the drumming compliment his helpless yelping and shrieking. The breakdown puts Eddie's voice through a phaser and he sounds like an evil radio announcer. This is the usual fanfare but it's in no way boring or bad.
It seems like this song is about being in a relationship where you're both addicted to a harmful drug and it's tearing you both apart. Hence, "The True Beast."
Promises
This one hits different. It opens up with some amazing axe-handling. Then Eddie starts fucking it up with his screaming and growling. The chugging and pounding make everything sound so brutal. Words can't describe how awesome this sounds. The guitarwork is very clean, and it's pretty easy to understand what Eddie is saying throughout. It makes the track feel more serious, without losing the edge. And goddamn that outro. If I didn't know the song that was coming up, I'd have said that outro was one of the best album endings ever. But it isn't the end of the album. This is...
The Last Relapse
Goddamn.
That piano solo. That intro. The somber rhythm throughout. That classical guitar breakdown. That fadeout during the outro. This one track sums up why these guys are legends. Everyone wanted to sound like this. In fact, there's bands whose whole gimmick is sounding like this one song. It's the perfect blend of angry and tortured wrapped up in one song. Words don't do this justice. Only sound waves do.
Final Verdict
Looking through the lens of today, it's easy to say that this sounds like any generic deathcore album off of Bandcamp. But taking into consideration that this was made in 2006, this album blows me the fuck away. The production is solid throughout. The simple fact that you could easily mistake this album as being way younger than it is, goes to show how ahead of its time it was. Songs like "Promises" and "The Last Relapse" easily get stuck in your head. However, I will admit most of these songs aren't very fun to listen to, and most sound the same. Reading the lyrics as you listen makes it more fun, but I shouldn't have to do that. This album has had some of my favorite songs I've reviewed, but it's been one of the hardest to get through.
Next week we tackle All Shall Perish's 2011 record This Is Where It Ends.
And I guarantee you guys are going to love that shit.
See ya next week!
All Shall Perish Band Photo © 2011 Nuclear Blast Records
Man Coughing Picture © 2019 Adobe
This Is Where It Ends Album Cover © 2011 Nuclear Blast Records
