I was pleased when I saw that Suicide Silence’s concert at the Underworld was sold out a few weeks back. This is a band who put themselves about and make a real effort to develop their fan base. They don’t claim to be anything other than a fully committed heavy metal band, and don’t mess around with samples or anything artificial to enhance their sound. The Americans are now back with their latest Modern Metalcore work, “The Black Crown”.
The opener “Slaves to Substance” tells me exactly why Suicide Silence have gained their plaudits and their fans. There’s nothing particularly sophisticated about it. What we do have is a wealth of headbanging, anger and technical Hardcore. The chug-chug-chug-chug-chug is broken up by wailing guitars and violent screams. It’s brutal and of course “tough guy”. “O.C.D” carries on in the same vein of pumping metal and with its repeatable if not anthemic chorus. The rhythm guitar work is deep and ominous, which made the track for me. After two powerful openers, the album then tailed off with “Human Violence”, a modern Hardcore-style romp. It’s nothing special though. The interest level picks up again at the start of “You Only Live Once”. Its rhythm is lively and captivating and there’s a good solo but overall it’s not really strong. The energy is going into the heaviness and “Fuck Everything” has the now familiar punishing rhythm. The drumming and vocals are ferocious. It’s good but I’m not overwhelmed. As the track title suggests, it’s anti-establishment and I fleetingly wondered if it was this aspect rather than the music itself which appeals. After the brief “March to the Black Crown”, we get another direct and fury-filled rant in the form of “Witness the Addiction”. The chorus is oddly discordant but the track is repetitive as is much of this work. The backing riff holds it together and it’s typically heavy. The technical drum work is good on “Cross-Eyed Catastrophe” and there’s anger and harshness but since the second track “O.C.D”, I had heard nothing outstanding. Finally the tempo picks up on “Smashed”. The change of pace is welcome. The dual vocal style is interesting, the drums are remorseless and occasionally triggering. The rhythm is forceful as usual. The interest is maintained on “The Only Thing that Sets us Apart”, which rumbles on relentlessly like a train. The movement is nice and funky. The chorus is addictive. “Cancerous Skies” then gives the album a heavy and purposeful ending.
Suicide Silence fans will know what to expect. This album operates to a well-established formula. I’m not sure it will bring any great surprise or delight to anyone else. Like their last album “No Time to Bleed” I found that after a lively and impressive start, this album tailed off before picking up again. There are no great claims to subtlety but at times “The Black Crown” is more sophisticated and multi-layered than it appears on the face of it. For me, this is a decent Metal album but doesn’t fall into the “exceptional” category.
http://www.myspace.com/suicidesilence
Andrew Doherty
MTUK HOME
