With only one original member left since their formation in 2009, the Chicago based hardcore group have ditched their beatdown sound for a more traditional death metal approach on their latest record. Unfortunately, for the most part, the overly clean production on ‘Altars Of Impurity’ means that some of the violent riffs that the band are known for end up sounding incredibly generic.
Gone for the most part are the slowed down, hard as nails, mosh calls, replaced with ‘jump the fuck up’ deathcore breakdowns that fail to have the same impact as they did when they changed direction for ‘Eternal Misery’. Their latest vocalist Rolo Hernandez, while versatile with his growls, doesn’t add much variation to the death-metal-by-numbers openers ‘Santisima Muerte’ and ‘Rivers Of Hypocrisy’.
‘Sigil of Aciel’ demonstrates where their death metal influences shine with its opening blast beat, but it feels like a cop out with the open chord chugs, so much so that Karebare of Suburban Scum’s guest vocal section is largely forgettable. The guest features sound buried and suffocated in the mix, which only makes matters worse. Considering this is intended to be a venture into heavier territory through a different spectrum, it feels like they’ve cherry picked their influences but haven’t managed to make it their own.
With previous releases the balance between hardcore and metal influences worked better, addeding to the sheer layers of thick, bludgeoning drum sections and down tempo riffs. Here it sounds flat and forced in comparison, trying to retain the heaviness but unable to utilise much experimentation, which quickly becomes stale. The last few tracks somewhat make up for the lacklustre offerings, with ‘Entombed’s drone introduction preparing you for the onslaught of ugly noise ahead. The beatdown ending to ‘Swine’ brings us back to the familiar, satisfyingly slow instrumentation that makes you want to fight the nearest person in sight.
However, the re-recorded version of ‘Population Control’ at the very end of this record is not only totally unnecessary (the original slays enough as it is), but feels like a gut punch reminder of how much better they used to be. ‘Altars Of Impurity’ on the whole is a disappointing affair and while there are a handful of tracks here that no doubt would sound great in a live scenario, they fail to make the same satisfying impact as before.
ASHWIN BANDARI