Like any other trend, the whole Deathcore thing has already gotten to be too much, with only a few halfway decent bands diluted by a wave of useless clones who bring nothing new to the table. Sound familiar? I'll bet it does. Anyway, with that said, meet Californian quintet Suicide Silence, who have just released their debut album, 'The Cleansing'.
Suicide Silence have obviously been paying attention to the leading lights of this genre; maybe a little too much attention. The riffs are bruising, the dually screamed/deeply growled vocals reminiscent of Black Dahlia Murder are throat-lacerating, the grooves head-bangable and the blasting suitably punishing, but after about four songs if it, you'll be craving some variety or some interesting songwriting tricks to sneak into these thirteen songs. Unfortunately you don't really get it. You do encounter some bright spots, like the dissonant guitars and ambience of the intense 'In A Photograph', the intriguing flickers of guitar melodies throughout 'The Fallen' or Michael Lucker's venomous vocals on 'Bludgeoned To Death', but it's still very much straight down the line, generic Deathcore. Every time I get about four songs into this record, it already feels too familiar, and to be blunt, monotonous to be anything more than a sub-par release. It's hard to shake the feeling that Suicide Silence is just another forgettable band in a field that's rapidly getting bloated and fat.
What is most disheartening about this relatively new sub-genre is how quickly we have seen a wave of capable, if incredibly dispensable imitators who choose to toe the line rather than break the mould. For instance, the song structures here already feel tired. Also, while the beatdowns are brutal, nearly every single one is so telegraphed you can see them coming a long way off. Although to be fair, there are some good pit-friendly moments; Lucker's anguished cries and the double-bass attack during 'No Pity For A Coward' are memorable and will have many kids emerging bloodied from the pit every night. It just doesn't come across as effectively on record.
On the plus side, Tue Madsen's mix is incredibly heavy: this is an album that will crush some serious skulls. Great production values aside, Suicide Silence isn't in the same league as label mates Despised Icon, or even the somewhat disappointing last album from Ion Dissonance. There's nothing inherently wrong with 'The Cleansing', but there isn't much that's particularly right about it either.
- Spiritech
(See reviewer's scoring method)
