If you didn’t do any investigating of bands using the ease of the net you would almost certainly say this band was from the US, maybe even the UK based on the type of death metal they play, that being the side of deathcore but with less of the slams and chug breakdowns. Benefitting from a hugely clean production also sends messages of US death metal instead of Sweden where As You Drown (previously called Ethereal) hail from. However the guitar sound does have a gritty aspect which makes this slightly different to listen to overall.
‘Ruins And Dead Ends’ has an immediate modern death metal edge complete with dual grunt and screamed vocals which I personally don’t mind at all, though I suspect the purists among you will raise your bushy eyebrows in suspicion. There is no denying the power of the music on display here as ‘Horns’ follows with a slower style akin to Immolation momentarily before the raucous riff sends the song in an Aborted direction. The intermittent blast that the band favours sits well with the way the riffs are fired out remorselessly. Despite the clean approach to the production the guitar sound has a definite dirty edge and yes the band uses slam riffs for catchiness. Cop out or not they certainly know how to use them effectively as ‘Driven By Hatred’ proves easily when the double bass kick matches the riffs beat for beat.
Whilst the band doesn’t really offer anything remarkable or particularly inspiring creatively there is little doubt of the ferocity the band unleashes on a song like ‘Open Wound Salvation’ with its opening Swedish metal assault blended into a modern death metal template. With so many quality acts like this out there picking out any discernible standout acts is getting increasingly difficult but it is more than fair to say that As You Drown has plenty to offer the metal investigator prepared to shell out cash for it.
http://www.myspace.com/asyoudrownsweden
