PSYCHO-FRAME : "SALVATION LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF A GRIEVING MOTHER "

 

The debut from this death-core band finds them leaning into the more slamming side of the genre and taking a few more chances. The vocals do have plenty of the low gurgling, which switches to a higher scream. There is a grinding, spastic nature, along with some nu-metal in their DNA.  The opening track is heavy enough that it can stun you into awe, before you have the chance to ask if these guys can actually write a song. The bouncing stomp of "Inverted Spear of Heaven"  makes it harder to answer this question, as most of the time they are into playing at a more manic. 

"The Portal" opens up with a guitar solo that indicates they can play their instruments, but the songwriting questions still linger, as all the half-time riffs colliding with one another do not indicate a great deal of dynamics. The vocals do bear some of the blame when it comes to the one-dimensional nature the album's sonic scope begins to be limited to. There is a little more groove to "Black Wave 2". But once again, the vocals follow a similar pattern as previous songs, until they go into a hyper blast. There are more hard-core moments to their stompy sections. 

They lash out in a more feral, hard-core manner for " Endless Agonal Devotion". But there is nothing there that really hooks me into the song. "Apocalypse Through Lysergic Possession" is a cool song title, but the reality of the song is a more chaotic version of what they have been doing thus far. There are a few more deliberate riffs that give it a grounding stomp at times. The breakdowns are pretty slapping in this one, though the vocals have grown tedious. "I Won't Be There to Watch You Go" falls along the same lines as most metalcore that touches the bounds of death grind. 

"Filleted and Fucked" is another great song title wasted on an incomprehensible chug fest. There are chances for them to lock onto a groove that they let slip past them. They do find some breakdowns. "God is Busy" is another song that has potential, but they go into the more formulaic breakdown crunching. Yes, it is heavy, but it also becomes redundant. For the last two songs, I do not have a great deal of faith that there is going to be much that varies this album, from the one-dimensional mood cast of the brutality so far. The last song starts off with the kind of frenzy that has consumed the bulk of this album. There are a few more traces of atmosphere, but not enough to really create the kind of dynamics this album needs. While I do think Snaguissuggabogg is going to break more mainstream, it's because they understand the groove behind breakdowns; this band still has a lot to learn. I will give this album a 7.5, if you jsut want heavy, they have you covered. 

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