As You Drown

Reflection

Written by: PP on 19/07/2009 20:15:14

Youngsters As You Drown are one of the newer signings of Metal Blade, and as you might expect from the nonsensical band logo on top of the artwork, their debut album "Reflection" is a heavy dose of crushing deathcore. The band seamlessly combines countless breakdowns and melodic leads from the heavier end of metalcore spectrum together with elements from modern death metal, translating to ridiculous instrumental prowess, a bleak soundscape and constant double-pedal pummeling on the background.

The atmosphere of the album is surprisingly intense for such a young band, as the soundscape is absolutely devastating. There's a sense of suffocation and destruction in all of the fast songs that I wouldn't recommend for anyone currently nursing a hangover, they will simply tear your head apart from the inside piece by piece. The instrumentals are overwhelmingly tight, I recall only a couple of bands (those listed in the for the fans of section) that emit such a great sense of confined space in their music while shredding away or engaging in the numerous breakdowns this album possesses. The growls aren't nothing to write home about - they're precisely the same type of raspy growls that every band in the genre utilizes - though they still help in creating the intense atmosphere.

Occasionally the band submerges from speed-heaven down to a mid-paced level, where their songs are actually quite catchy, but I'd still pick the awesome riffs like those on "Open Wound Salvation" over them any day. The latter track is easily the best on the record as it is here that a (reasonably) catchy chorus is combined with killer guitars, but even here you have a constant sense that Job For A Cowboy and Crowpath just did it way better. Nevertheless, "Reflection" is a solid release and one that you should consider checking out if deathcore's your thing.

7

Download: Open Wound Salvation
For the fans of: Job For A Cowboy, Crowpath, The Faceless, Oceano
Listen: Myspace

Release date 06.07.2009
Metal Blade

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.