Point Blank Rage, The Sound of Resistance
Montreal, Quebec’s Point Blank Rage mark their debut release with 31 minutes of straightforward, ruthless death metal in the vain of Suffocation and Obituary. Featuring Alexandre Leblanc (Neuraxis, Atheretic) on vocals, the band mixes chugging guitars and thundering drums in a skull crushing listening experience. The mid tempo pace of The Sound of Resistance is often violently punctured with savage blasts from the drums and technical guitar work.
Don’t let the band’s bludgeoning riffs fool you. There’s an underlying groove to this album that will surprise the more discerning metal fans. Add in some technical guitar work and tempo altering drums and The Sound of Resistance could leave this band high on the list for any newcomer awards in the metal scene.
The Sound of Resistance
The opening title track fades in smoothly before the band unleashes huge riffs and thundering drums. There’s plenty of aggression packed into this track, reinforced with beefy riffs and creative drumming. Leblanc’s vocals are deep and guttural, perfectly complimenting the dark sound of the album.
Overcoming
After the slow, yet methodical bludgeoning you received on the opening track, Point Blank Rage let’s loose with this more technically sound bit of work. For the most part, the band continues with the pace they set with the first track, but hit hard with rapid fire drumming and vicious guitar work. Leblanc flexes his vocal range with a varied delivery, hitting deep near indecipherable guttural growls just as easily as he shreds the higher end stuff. This one also features guest vocals from Vengeful’s Jean-Marie Leblanc.
Riot
“Riot” is aptly named, as it feels as though you are in the midst riotous chaos, having stumbled to the cold city pavement as hundreds of looters and violent protesters trample your broken body. Paints a pretty picture, doesn’t it? The groove through this one, makes it one of my favorite tracks on the disc. It’s just too bad it ends so quickly.
Blueprints to Depression
This one starts off with some guitar work that sounds pretty well influenced by Machine Head’s Burn My Eyes. The track quickly shifts into a chugging nightmare with an unique stop-go cadence. This is a very catchy track and will leave you with a sprained neck.
A New Pain
More groove oriented metal flows through the speakers on this one, punctuated with some interesting guitar work that adds a bit of character to the song. This is a more soundly structured track with a dynamic sound — oh, and some seriously devastating blasts, as well.
Stench of Corruption (The Peacemaker)
Point Blank Rage keep the high tempo pace flowing as they transition into this next song. There are some real thick, creative riffs on this one to accompany Leblanc’s vocals. The band shifts it’s delivery a bit at about the halfway point, moving to a more parred down means of beating you senseless. The second half of this track is brutal to say the least.
This is…
“This is…” the shortest track on the album, coming in at just under 2:50. It’s dominated by huge, chugging riffs that are best heard loud as hell. If this one doesn’t get you pumped up… I don’t know what will.
Surrender to Tragedy
The final track on this beast of an album is also the longest. The six minute track starts off slowly with some light guitar and drum work, before exploding with blasts from the rhythm section. The vocals don’t kick in until the 1:40 mark. The overall sound on this one is much more raw and evil than the rest of the album. It’s a hell of a way to finish on an impressive debut.
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Galy Records have released an intensely brutal album with Point Blank Rage’s The Sound of Resistance. Fans of old school death metal will be pleased with the band’s sound, as will fans of the newer death-core bands. There’s plenty of aggressive music on this disc to keep any one fully entertained and itching for a mosh pit. I’m just bummed the disc ends so soon.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them.
Additional Notes:
n/a