July 22, 2010 | , | 4

Masakari, The Prophet Feeds

Masakari: The Prophet Feeds

Raging, crushing d-beat hardcore isn’t anything new. It’s a sound that’s been aped and beaten into boring submission by many a wannabe-Discharge. That, however, is anything but the case with the debut effort from this Cleveland band of miscreants. Masakari throw in a solid helping of sludgy crust and somber melodies to deliver a truly fresh and energized take on the sub-genre. The Prophet Feeds sees these guys dive deep into themselves and the social/political landscape to deliver heart-felt, honest and suffocating atmosphere with a fierce, driving backbone of d-beat mayhem.

Rumbling rhythms, charging guitars and an aggressive vocal attack are met with a brooding overall vibe that gives this band’s freshman effort a memorable and intense experience. The melancholy melodies that weave in and out of the bruising rhythms only add to the denseness contained within these ten songs.

Be warned, though, this isn’t some scenester-haired, tight jean wearing, whiny, sniveling emo interpretation of the style. This is a ferociously delivered, gritty album full of heavy guitars, pummeling drums, vehement vocal growls and thick textures. Throw this fucker in the disc player and rage like no tomorrow.

XVI Rapid Dominance
The scathing opening track starts off with some sweet guitar work before slowing down to a crushing, sludgy bit of mosh as the vocals come in. Once the pace picks back up these guys do their damnedest to overwhelm you with buzzing guitars, bruising rhythms and a nicely injected bit of melody. Talk about one hell of an introduction. Wow.

X Pain Conceived As

We hear the first of several audio clips that the band uses throughout their debut. Once the brief clip is gone, the suffocating shroud of sludge and beefy rhythms fill the air around you with dizzying ferocity. The lighter, melodic elements to the guitars help keep the song from becoming overly dense, but not too much. So far these songs are flying by.

XI Nausea
“XI Nausea” has some thundering drum work from start to finish as the guitars crush and lift through the song’s duration. The vocals so far have been raw and guttural, yet keep pace with the rest of the band perfectly, driving the band’s message deep into your soul. The guitars at 1:12 have a melancholy and soulful vibe to them before descending into the sludgy quagmire one more.

XII Abandoned
For as thick as the previous songs have been, they’ve had a bit more of a chugging groove than this next track. “XII Abandoned” still has some crusty thickness to it, but it’s a whole hell of a lot more chaotic with tortured guitars, manic drums and vicious vocals. There are a couple of opportunities for you to shout along with the band as they slow things down a bit before building back up with massive riffs.

VIII Echoes
This 54 second burst of d-beat hardcore is a frenzied attack on the senses. It’s quick paced, aggressive and gone before you know what hit you. Awesome song!

XIV The Voiceless
“XIV The Voiceless” has a much slower pace and sludgier vibe than the first five songs — well, the first minute and a half is. After that point, the tempo is picked up with buzzing guitars and unrelenting drums that build to a swirling peak as another audio clip comes in around 2:45. Damn, man. This is another killer song with great layering of all elements.

IX Tempt Providence
As the reverb of the previous track fades along with it’s sound clip Masakari unleash a back alley mugging with this next song. The vocals seem to be that much more aggressive and violent as drums pepper your skull with everything they have to throw at you. The thing that has really made this album stand out for me so far, is the excellent song writing. These guys know when enough is enough and shift tempo, tones and delivery at just the right moment. Well done!

XIII Rise Or Fall
“XIII Rise Or Fall” explodes out of the gate with ferocious barks and discordant guitars as the drummer seems hell bent on destroying his equipment in the first 30 seconds. The guitars are all over the place throughout this song, but seem to keep cohesive, teetering on dissolving into chaos. The subtle melodies that permeate the air give this song a great vibe.

XV Echelon
I love the opening bit of guitar work that starts off this next song. It’s solemn, yet deceptively aggressive. The rolling drums come in along with guitars that are doing their best to drown out the barked and screamed vocals. This is a dense-ass song if ever there was one. The last 25 seconds or so are up-tempo and will leave you breathless after your one-man circle pit comes to an end.

Outro
This nearly seven minute long track utilizes a lengthy sound clip as guitars and drums start off slowly and eventually swell to a crescendo as everything dissolves into suffocating noise at the peak of the song. This is one of the better outros I’ve heard in a while and fits the overall tone of the album perfectly.

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Additional Notes:
n/a