Elizabeth

Where Vultures Land

Written by: PP on 19/07/2012 05:22:14

Watch out, this isn't for the weak-minded. Switzerland's Elizabeth crash through the gates guns blazing and ready to wreak havoc on their debut album "Where Vultures Land", a twenty-minute lesson in vicious chaos-hardcore from the Converge school of thought. Album opener "Darkness" sets the record off to an explosive start through a raw and uncompromising assault on anything melodic and nice. Instead, it prefers a breakneck speed take on brutalized hardcore/punk with plenty of crusty distortion added in for good measure.

Their vocalist is a beast: he owns a menacing howl that rivals the most ferocious of vocalists within hardcore. He's not afraid to absolutely torment his vocal chords to the point of grating them apart through a crazed scream that sees its modern parallels found in Belgian bruisers Rise And Fall, as well as in the crazy texas metalcore/hardcore hybrid Fight Pretty. On occasion, the band toys with melody, such as on "The Call" and on the slower piece "Sailor's Grave", which carries a progressive undertone to it that should remind you of the "Jane Doe" years by Converge. Here, the band take stabs at a more atmospheric approach to their songwriting, but even here there's a looming vibe of something unpredictably chaotic about to take place soon.

There's some melody, but then again it is used much in the same way as Converge uses melody: to create a context for their malignant take on ridiculously high-speed hardcore where dirty, distorted guitars and ravaging vocals are the driving force going forward. But more consistency is certainly needed. Where the mentioned tracks excel in their experimentation, the fierce, brutal hardcore pieces are the ones where the band simply sound like Converge mini. That's both a positive and a negative attribute, and one that the band has to work on for their next release.

Download: The Call
For the fans of: Converge, Rise And Fall, Fight Pretty
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 04.04.2012
Throatruiner Records

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