The Pitch: Louisville, Kentucky-based extreme metallic hardcore unit Comess raize the earth with their new album, Botched and Flailed. FFO: Noise Trail Immersion, Left Behind, The Flesh
What I Like: There's a growing subsect of self-described "hardcore" bands that veer ever-closer to the metal end of the spectrum. Up until now I had considered Left Behind to be the heaviest of these groups, but Comess are only hanging onto the scene by a thread at this point. In reality, Botched and Flailed is a death metal album merely toying with hardcore and elements. Their sound is one of Meshuggah meets Trap Them fronted by Randy Blythe. The music is highly dark and aggressive, expecially when it comes to the vocals; and the result is far more extreme than anything from Converge or even Wolf King. Even so, the djenty hooks of "Pit Dweller" and mathcore noodling of "Disact" and "Deracinate" draw enough comparisons to keep this album from cleanly falling into any other category. Bottom line: difficult to classify.
Critiques: There's something missing from these compositions that keeps me from fully diving in. At least part of the issue seems to be that the vocals are a bit one-note. The dual assault of hardcore instrumentation with a charismatic frontman is often the key to an engaging album in the genre. And while the screams here are certainly powerful, they're lacking in diversity and feeling.
The Verdict: Botched And Flailed has some minor kinks, but between its unique fusion of styles and overall strong instrumentation, I am intrigued to hear more. Check out my favorite bangers below.
Flight's Fav's: Disact, Serpenticost, Deracinate
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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