It's On!!!

Aterra is self-described thrash/deathcore band from Warsaw. They were the support on tour of such acts Arch Enemy and M.O.D. Recently they treated me to their new album, All Born in Pain. With some Crunchy Korn bass mixed with some catchy riffs, the sound is largely that of metalcore with some nü metal.

"Paper Kings," for instance, opens with impossible-not-to-headbang-to, "It's On" groove. Alternate these simplistic chord and open note moshpits with Darkest Hour style palm mute alternations and you get the idea. There's even a little southern rock and grunginess to a few of the riffs that creates an interesting fusion with Chaos AD vocals. Just be sure to throw in a few regional elements like flute, Spanish guitar, and hand drums for good measure.

And in between each of the standard tracks are plenty of of varied interludes with sound textures, ranging from ambient to tribal. "Voices" is probably my favorite song with its unmatched intensity and speed. I also hear a Rammstein/early Manson feel to the industrialized riff on "Empty Rules." Finally, the clean singing on the final track really takes me back to my teenage early days getting into metal. Pretty fun little guitar hook on this one too.

Overall, I enjoyed All Born in Pain, but I will say that it is a little inconsistent. The ironically-named "Low," in particular is a little to gothy for my taste, and I'm not feeling the spoken word. There are valid points being made in the lyrics that are plenty relateable, but there are probably more creative ways to get the job done. Even so, if you wanted some head-bangable jams that take you back to the late 90's, early 2000's; Aterra is not a bad way to go. Check out the soundcloud stream below.