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As exciting as new blood breaking the mould is, sometimes you have to relinquish control to the veterans and let them lead the charge from the front. FATES MESSENGER boasts a mammoth roster of veteran powerhouses with members of ABOVE ALL, ROMEO MUST DIE, and STAMPIN GROUND. An almost intimidating line-up signalling the oncoming of a collection of neck-breaking bangers. Chests puffed, the 4-piece thrives under the constraints of a 6 song EP. There’s no room for filler and they spend their time disgorging cut-throat riffs and body slamming breakdowns powered by a disorientating ferocity.
Though merely an EP it covers a lot of ground and achieves what some bands struggle with in a full-fledged album. Lingering in the sweet spot between the violence of hardcore and the epic elegance of metalcore, there’s components of thrash littered across the album reminiscent of God Hates Us All era SLAYER. The whole spectrum is celebrated and no stone left unturned in their mission to deliver a distinct juggernaut sound. Stepping back from the EP and once your ears adjust to a normal level of decibels, it becomes clear that the band have cooked up a beautiful blend of some of the most celebrated metal subgenres, morphing into its own barbaric brutalism.
Every hardcore or metalcore band can slam riffs till the cows come home but it takes a great band to possess the foresight of when to land a sucker punch. The killer strike of this offering is undoubtedly the band’s instinct of when and where to break the tension. It’s like those moments in the pit where you can’t sweat anymore and your lungs are numb from all the moshing. A cool breeze creeps its way through the thick wall of limbs and while it’s not a lot, it’s just enough to give you the second wind to tackle some more crowd killers.
An elongated metaphor for sure, but check out penultimate song Bleed Again and it’ll become clear. As much as the limit has been hit as a meteoric synth-driven chorus comes to its end, what follows is an ominous riff lurking in the shadows. Foreboding and spine tingling, it sneaks up before dropkicking eardrums into a breakdown worthy of the most intense wall of death. All in all, the band commits a brutal aural assault, and despite being enjoyed from the comfort of your own speakers, you might as well have been body-slammed to infinity in person. You can two-step, you can throw limbs, you can rupture your vocal cords. It’s metalcore for all seasons.
Rating: 8/10
Eternal War is set for release August 22nd via Greyline Records.
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The post EP REVIEW: Eternal War – Fates Messenger appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
