In Cold Blood, In Cold Blood

If we learned anything from the horror that was Limp Bizkit, it’s that turntables just don’t belong in metal — any kind of metal. No offense to the dude (Giuseppe) spinning records on In Cold Blood’s debut demo (I’m sure he’s good at what he does), but they just don’t add anything for me on this disc. What we have here on on the six tracks demo is aggressive metalcore in the vein of Soilwork, Dead to Fall and As I Lay Dying. Adding in turntables does nothing to help separate this Italian group from the throng of bands in this genre.

My ranting aside, the music on this demo is actually pretty decent. Thick, hardcore influenced breakdowns mix with melodic leads and hooks to create an slightly more aggressive take on metalcore in general. The rhythms are pretty damned heavy with catchy drum work. The vocals are what one might expect in this genre — mid range growls and screams that shift every now and again in to hardcore shouts.

Hold My Own
The demo opens up with some industrial noise before a solid metalcore riff starts in the background. Thundering bass and drum hits join in as the group picks up the Swedish melodic death metal stick and starts swinging it violently in the air. Thick bass lines back up impressive leads and a catchy groove. There are several tempo changes that the band uses effectively to keep things from getting stale.

Under Concrete
“Under Concrete” starts off with melodic guitar work and quick feet on the double bass. These dudes certainly are capable at destroying some metalcore that’s for sure. My only complaint for this excellent track is the sampling and turntables — I’d like to bury them under a few feet of concrete. Big riffs and heavy drums during the breakdowns are pretty damned good, but their effectiveness is dampened by unnecessary sampling. I’m digging the guitar work at the 2:20 mark and beyond as vocalist Fulvio shouts in the background.

No Sun
Melodic riffing and layered vocals get “No Sun” started off to a nice start. The beats laid down by the drums are easy enough to get into and the guitar work at 1:25 mark is impressive.

Unblind Eyes
Muted bass work and drums start this off before groove oriented riffing gets the pace moving along quickly. The melodic edge to this one is balanced with the aggression in the drum work and vocals. There’s an interesting rock vibe to much of the guitar work outside of the massive riffs found in the breakdown.

Burn It Down
Interesting guitar work and drums start this one off to a different beat. It’s probably the most creative track on the demo as it shifts from pummeling blasts to off tempo guitar work. Layered shouts are plenty to give it some edge with beefy riffs during the chorus.

Age of Destruction
“Age of Destruction” rounds out the demo chugging riffs and unrelenting drums. The mix of crushing riffs and melodic lead just before the one minute mark is a nice piece of song writing. The song ends with creative drum work and extended guitar reverb.

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I hate to pick on just one dude in the band, but I can’t get pass the sampling and turntables on this release. It’s a good thing it’s a demo and can thusly be something the band works on and learns from. I’m sure some folks by like the added element the sampling brings to the table, but for me it kills this demo.

Favorite Tracks:
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Additional Notes:
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