You’d be forgiven for thinking that The Famine were a Christian metal band (not that there’s anything wrong with that) due to their CD artwork, label affiliation, song titles like “The New Hell” and “The Cross and the Holy See” and for the fact that former and current members came from early Christian death metal act Embodyment. However, the band, label reps and PR folks will be quick to tell you that The Famine is not a Christian metal act. What The Famine is though, is a competent, solid modern American death metal act.
Straddling the line confidently between The Black Dahlia Murder (even the band’s logo font is identical) and Job For a Cowboy, The Famine’s second album is tight, energetic, well played and well produced, but there’s one glaring issue: I’ve heard the exact same album several time already in the last year or so. Just recently, it was Salt the Wound’s Kill the Crown, Abacinate’s Genesis, and going back to last year it was the likes of As They Sleep’s Dynasty, Wretched’s Beyond the Gate and Sons of Azrael’s Scouting the Boneyard. The list goes on and on. The thing is, I enjoyed all of those albums, as I enjoyed Architects of Guilt and there’s simply nothing wrong with the lot at all. Except for one glaring issue: There’s nothing to really stand out or stay with you once the album is over.
Former bassist, now vocalist vocalist Nick Nowell is a dead ringer for Trevor Strnad but he seems to be trying a bit too hard at times and the riffs of guitarist Andrew Godwin are the familiarly slicing, shredding sort with a few solos and grooves here and there. To their credit, there are no real breakdowns, there are no graceful interludes, no clean vocals or introspective moments as the album pretty well shreds from opener “The New Hell” through “VI The Fraudulent” and “A Pavement of Good Intentions” until penultimate track “The Pyrithion House”. It’s not until the closer “To The Teeth”, where The Famine take their foot off the pedal and render a surprisingly robust groovy, almost southern rock track — to be frank it’s pretty much the only track that really got my attention whilst the CD was spinning.
Otherwise the material and its punchy production blazes by with wide eyed ferocity and conviction–which I appreciate–but there’s little else. With this release, The Famine give Solid State a respectable non-Christian band and their heaviest and most virulent act, yet, it lacks anything that’s going to elevate them from the crowded genre they currently reside in.
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(not that there’s anything wrong with that)
that’s what you think.
on Mar 30th, 2011 at 10:38I like this record alot. It wasn’t very catchy to me at first, but things started sticking after a few listens and now i look forward to certain riffs and parts of songs. It is very similar to Black Dahlia, but with a southern metal edge that reminds me of Soilent Green once in a while, especially with the high/low vocal trade-offs. I think one of the best things about this band are the lyrics, which have are very thought-provoking. They definitely have a strong message about this country’s racism, societal failures, and religious perversions that i can identify with more than sci-fi or gore lyrics. Very solid and a grower. Good quality metal!
on Apr 1st, 2011 at 16:39there is something wrong with it actually.
on Apr 2nd, 2011 at 15:40since i would never support this label any band on it get no chance with me either.erase the review and save people from this nonsense.
thank you, Shaden.
on Apr 4th, 2011 at 10:08