Trigger The Bloodshed

The Great Depression

Written by: AP on 27/04/2009 15:00:58

After a disappointing and lackluster debut, British technical deathcore outfit Trigger The Bloodshed did some in-house cleaning and discharged vocalist Charlie Holmes and booted out Jamie O'Rourke on the bass. Out went most of their stylistic shortcomings too and in came a fiercer, more focused sound that should earn the band more breathing space among the dozens of other deathcore bands currently in vogue. In fact technical death metal is a better term to describe "The Great Depression" but we shall refrain from it for fear of retribution by one or both of the priests reigning over the genre on this webzine.

Not that there is anything wrong with deathcore per se, but the ever-present dissonant breakdowns and pig squealing do tend to reduce the credibility of an album. None of that has found its way onto "The Great Depression", which draws inspiration from Suffocation and Nile; hence the somewhat progressive nature of songs like "The Dead World" and "The Infliction of Tophet". It's hardly an original addition to the genre, and its mile-a-minute guitar riffs may be standard death metal fare, but there are flashes of brilliance scattered amongst, most notably in "Warbound" and "The Scourging Impurity"; brief blasts of melody that add much needed contrast to the otherwise thick and punishing main riffs. Fortunately guitarists Rob Purnell and Martyn Evans spare us from gaunt solos and opt for relatively technical riff patterns to demonstrate their know-how instead - a stylistic decision that sets Trigger The Bloodshed at least slightly apart from most of their contemporary peers and keeps the album from sounding too mechanical.

It is now going to sound like I have developed a fetish, but here, too, attention must be drawn to the drumming of Max Blunos. Ironically his work behind the kit is both the band's greatest asset and the album's biggest pitfall: his virtuosity has the unfortunate side effect of leaping into technical overindulgences which the remaining members can barely keep up with. What happens is that some parts then unwillingly divide into separate time signatures that don't work together, creating the kind of sonic chaos featured in the later half of "Contemporary Perception Narcotics" which distracts the focus by spiraling out of control in a million directions, and not in the good, math rock kind of way. It sounds intense, but only accidentally.

With all that in mind "The Great Depression" is still one of the better releases of its kind. Word has it Trigger The Bloodshed are the most technically proficient bunch of youngsters roaming the British underground right now, and listening in at any minute will confirm those rumours. But the album offers very little depth and had more of the talent been channeled towards writing more unpredictable material and had some of that progressive drive lurking beneath the surface been harnessed beyond subtleties, "The Great Depression" could have been great rather than good.

6

Download: Warbound, The Scourging Impurity, The Infliction of Tophet

For the fans of: Decapitated, Ignominious Incarceration, Nile, Suffocation

Listen: Myspace

Release date 06.04.2009

Rising

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