Subservience- Ripped in Half

Brutal, extreme and violent, Ripped in Half is a decleration of war from Brighton-based metallers Subservience. This 4 track EP shows that British death metal is healthy and remains a force to be reckoned with on the metal scene.

Subservience’s songs are all fast-paced, riff-led and full of double-kick drum barrages which never let up. The music is loud and in your face. The songs are all stripped back and no frills, 3 of them clocking in at little over 3 minutes, and the bonus track ‘Round 1, Fight!’ is only 10 seconds long.

There are few compromises or areas where they give in to technical wizardry alone- solos are minimal, and the majority of the album focuses on the angry, tight sound of the band as a whole.

Overall this EP is as good as any other extreme metal that I have heard recently; completely brutal, understated and unrelenting.  

7/10

March The Desert- March The Desert

March The Desert’s latest release contains all the trademarks of the psychedelic metal which they claim to be attempting to emulate. Thick, distorted guitars playing groovy, slow riffs give the music a bounce, whilst the harsh vocal sound suits the science-fictional element of the lyrics.

The production side of the March The Desert EP leaves a lot to be desired. The vocals are at times overpowered by the rest of the band, which has a muffled sound, and at points the words are incomprehensible- even when they’re not meant to be. The whole album sounds very compressed, and could do with being made a lot clearer sounding. The drums at times blend completely in with the rest of the sound, which means that the album seems to lack the punchy rhythm that would hold the album together. The cymbals however seem to be left in prominence, creating a splashing, rhythmic sound which highlights the minimal drumming. In the points where the drums can be heard, they sound very loose and spongy, lacking any kick or punch.

The tracks have a slow, bluesy groove feel that has been drenched in distortion and various effects, giving the songs a trippy, stoner rock feel. These 6 long tracks all have a very similar feel: Slow and laid-back with a heavy, doom attitude. From time to time, the band let’s go and begins to show a technical side,

 Overall, the album has some fairly large production issues which seriously detract from the actual content. Musically, the band seems tight, but if felt like many of the tracks were using recycled ideas as the tracks lacked lots of individuality.

4/10