Swarm of the Lotus, The Sirens of Silence

I’m going to get right to the meat of this review. The biggest problem with this album is the vocals. I’m not referring to the lead singers abilities at all. This album was produced by Kurt Ballou (of Converge). He has produced several albums, all of which have had great sound, just as this release does. The drums, guitar, and bass all sound great. The vocals sound as though it were run through all the amps that Converge had just used to record Jane Doe.

It’s got a great sound/noise that I haven’t heard for a while. I just can’t get past not being able to hear the vocals. I don’t care if I can’t make out what is being screamed, just let me actually hear it.

If you could hold your last breathe

I had not heard of these guys before and had never listened to any of their previous material. I bought the album on the suggestion of a friend. Having only the name of the band and the cover art to garner my first impression of the band, I wasn’t really looking forward to loading it in the player.

I was expecting some whiney, emocore with many acoustic elements thrown in to really annoy the hell out of me. Thank full I was greeted with a massive wall of doom on the first few tracks. It’s hard to compare this band to anything I’ve heard before. I can hear elements of Converge in there, but I’m sure if that is a result of Kurt Ballou’s production or not. There are also some hints of some older Will Haven in there as well.

If you like the noisier metal out there, then definitely check these guys out.

Favorite Tracks:
Hookworm
The Great Masquerade
Vertigo

Additional Notes:
Album was packaged with Abacus Recording compilation disc