Untimely Demise
City of Steel
Sonic
Unyon
2011
Canada's
modern thrashers Untimely Demise seek to rip the heart out of false
metallers with their debut full-length, City of Steel. Their
approach is a dual-pronged assault of crunchy thrash and Gothenburg
styled melodic accents. The first track out of the gates is
Virtue in Death. Thick crunchy thrash riffs with a hint of Bay
Area rhythmic methodology sets the tone for the track and then at the
1:24 mark the Swedish melody makes its presence known. Matt's vocals are the shriekier style of death metal vocals which serves to sharpen the band's assault. Hunting
Evil spews out riffs that bring to mind Vio-lence's style and then the
guitarist unfurls a catchy set of melodic leads. This lends the
composition a mildly epic quality. The pace quickens and the song
heads towards a melodic thrash climax as we are treated to Glen and
Matt trading fiery fretwork. Sawing thrash riffs with a nod
towards the Bay Area on the title-track actually remind me of Gama
Bomb's sound, that is until the melodies flow in to the mix. The
track breaks into a meaty groove for some targeted power. However
the track takes a turn back towards the same melody, which in its
second approach sounds borderline hammy. I mean at times the
melodies feel out of place and a bit haphazard. Matt
Cuthbertson's skillful fingers dance on the strings as Unmaker gets
underway. Then we are struck by beefy riffs that break into a
galloping traditional metal passage. Even Matt's vocal approach
changes a bit from the scornful snarl to a throatier speed metal style.
City of Steel is a solid modern thrash album, but it seems like
more time is spent on trying to prove how good these guys are at
playing guitar and sewing together riffs rather than filling the songs
with sincere feeling. Even the aggression feels a little forced.
But I am sure a lot of people who pay more attention to the
technical aspects of a band will be quite pleased with Untimely Demise.
And the album is good, I just wish it was more Heartfelt.