This band gets the point behind metal-core, as it is equal parts metal and hardcore. There is some Slayer influence in the mix. The vocals are a harsher death rasp. Right from the jump, they let you know they are vegans. Does not feel as preachy as Earth Crisis about it. I used to be vegan, but not because I love animals; it was because I hate plants. "Blood Makes the Rain Fall" is heavy as fuck. "The Weight of Undying Shame" was thrashed by me, so I had to go back and give it another listen. The thrashing riffs work for me. The vocals find another voice chiming in, to which the shade of agony they are being expelled from their throats. The guitars take a more melodic turn under the sample of someone ranting about Palestine. This band differs from no other in that I do not care about their politics.
I do, however, appreciate the sentiment exposed in " A Vanguard Reforged". They do commit to speed more on this one. They crunch into "Inquisition's Wrath" before speeding up when they reach what serves as the verse. There is a more hardcore vocal that comes in when they hhit a grooving riff. But this song is more of a pummelling collision. There are bits of ambiance to break things up here and there, and I like how samples are used on this album. Marginally more purpose behind the riffs of "Masked Resistance" is enough to work for me. Another touchstone of hardcore is that they do not take the songs over four minutes but cram as many riffs into a more compacted time frame. t
"Iron Sultanate' is pretty much the title track as they snarl about the citadel being in flames on it. The last song does not bring anything new to the table but weaves the somewhat Slayer-inspired riffs around with convincing aggression. Political metalcore did not sound like it would have been my thing, but these guys delivered a fun album; I will give it a 9.5.
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