WristMeetRazor : "Degeneration"

 I have really liked what these guys are doing, their first album being my favorite. The last album found them going in a more nu-metal direction. This album starts off with more metal core blending with nu-metal to the point of following in Slipknot's footsteps. The breakdown parts feel more natural, but there is some rapid-fire thrashing going on here The sung vocals are not overly anthemic. They keep pouring the speed on and stay locked in this rapid-fire thrashing that makes them sound like every other band who does this sort of thing, I think by not diving into their shadow side they are cutting themselves short since it is what sets them apart from other bands. "Xeroxed Reflection" finds them staying locked into this path. The riffs have ample aggression, and if you just want a new thrash band, then this album might get the job done. But I think just being a thrash band is not what these guys are most effective at.,

"Dogday God" comes closer to tapping into who they really are as a band and might be the best song on this album so far. They are back to try their hand at thrash with "Love Thy Enmity". They keep the thrashing speed up with "Culled and Forgotten" but even the cool half-time riffs do not save the song. This is not to say they have totally discarded the nu-metal thing it is just more sparse, thanks to the chugged guitar that tries to gain momentum. The syncopation to "No Ceremony" is a little more interesting and the song works rather well. The thrashing returns once again on "the Vanity Procession". 'Negative Fix" is heavy as fuck. But they are capable of more than just being content with heavy. The snarled vocals continue to dominate the album. 

Sadly, they are not as self-aware as a band. The thrashing of the last song.  gets a little redundant. Midway into the song it ventures a more melodic rock n roll sound.   It's this second half of the song that is the most appealing and a sound they should have introduced more into the rest of the album to keep it from getting mired in thrash that they really do not stand out when they go into.    I will give this album an 8 due to this, They are still darker than most  bands doing this sort of thing and you can hear the band they used to be, so they are skilled musicians this is just an unfortunate side step, but still well done in terms of execution and this is the album they set out to make, so I can not fault them in this regard it is just not what I personally want from them or the most original direction they could have gone in.                                                                                                                                                                             

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Wristmeetrazor : " Replica of a Strange Love"

I really liked their first album so the bar is high for this one. It opens with the kind of wailing and gnashing of teeth bands like Converge started. At this band's heart they are a hard core band. A very emotional one. Even if their vision of hard core just goes back to the days of Myspace, I do not think they are faking the darkness here. The opener is a little more metallic and straight forward , but it works . The second song is more heavy handed and tends to fall more in like with your typical metal core. I need more than just break downs alone. The vocals are at this point in the album more of a snarl that not, though they do employ creepier forms of emoting, In places it reminds me of Marilyn Manson. 

It is when things get really dark for "Love's Labors Lost", that they really grab my attention. Yes it does pull them from the spastic hard core thrashing . That is a good thing. They lash back out with an angrier tone on "Anemic" . Some of the guitar parts are hookier here.  IN some of these moments you can hear where a 90s nu-metal influence is lurking in the shadow. Things get more feral and aggressive with " Eyes of Sulfide". "Dies Irae" is still thrashingly heavy but has more groove and purpose. It is however no as interesting to me as the more industrial tendencies of  the song after it.. There is a more punk vibe to "a Dovetail Romance" . By punk I am talking about Myspace punk.  I like how they balance the hard core break down like riffs with more sonic and melodic sections . 

"This Summer Sorrow" benefits from having more melodic vocals which opens the song up and lets it breathe. That does not mean there is not screaming. There is is it is just used as a more dynamic color rather than solely relied upon.  "All the Way Alive" is a good example of how to make an outro that can still work as a song. I am going to give this one a 9. It falls a little short of what the first album gave in terms of songwriting and dynamics. It is heavier and darker , but in a different way. If you are a fan of the first album you will like this one, perhaps it needs to grow on me a little. Still a 9 is almost perfect and certainly better than any other metal core band I have heard this year. 

Wristmeetrazor : "Misery Never Forgets"

There is a mix of various styles on this album. All of them are dark and tormented, so it works for me.They throw the break downs of hard core in the right places and do not bring them in a tough guy manner. They can switch things up with more frenetic screamo type riffs that are given new life through not sticking to the conventions of the sub genre. The bulk of the vocals are screamed in a way that should get old with me fast, but they broken up with other vocal colors ranging from singing to lower growls.  They step way out of the box on " Come on In the Water's Pink" and bring in electronic elements with dead pan vocals that remind me of Wreck & Reference until the singing comes in. The most important piece of this puzzle is that it is dark.

There is a interesting interlude before "XOXO" which is a pretty straight forward hard core song . Not Bane style hardcore, more emotional.  "He Smiled From Ear to Ear" is not experimental for these guys as it follows more a screamo formula. There is similar but done more flawlessly with " Expiry Date".  The last song "No More Blue Tomorrows" works of the metallic side of screamo, with the chugs holding a great deal of weight. One thing going in this album's favor is for hardcore it is well produced.  Yes some of the chugged parts while heavy are not the most original thing on the planet but as a whole it still works really well.

I think there is more I like about this album than I don't like. If I was going to complain about anything it would be the screamed vocals get a little old, but as a whole that too if offset due to the other vocal approaches used. So I will round this one up to a 9. I am not big on screamo so they have to be doing something effective in order to win me over.