Style: Symphonic Deathcore (Harsh vocals)
Review by: Dylan
Country: US-CA
Release date: 01-10-2018
NOTE: This album was originally included in the October 2018 issue of The Progressive Subway
So, symphonic deathcore. Did you almost spit out your drink by reading the genre? I surely did. I thought immediately “well, I guess I have a contender for worst album of the year here. Deathcore and symphonic can’t work, right?”… It may surprise everyone of you but… it actually isn’t bad?
I’m not saying this is a great release that blends two unconventional genres together. But, seriously, it was shocking to me that this album was far from unlistenable, and actually pretty damn good.
The way the artifice precept adapt symphonic elements to their deathcore is by subtle classical instruments, and an overall classical music influence. The closest I can compare them to is if Spawn of Possession merged with rings of Saturn, and took out all of the studio trickery present in the latter band. It’s a combo that I still can’t believe works, but it does.
The instrumentation is very technical while not being overly wanky. The use of symphonic instruments is very, very subtle, as in a piano passage playing behind all of the chaos at a low volume. They never feel out of place, since they are subtle enough to not ruin the brutality of the album, yet present enough to add another layer of atmosphere to each track. Also, the band itself sounds GOOD. Both the growls and shrieks here and fantastic, the guitars are punchy, the bass has plenty of room to breathe, and the drumming is relentless.
A huge surprise, yet an amazing one. I’d give them an 8/10, but I’ll add half a point more for being very bold.
Recommended tracks: Light, Whatever Do They See
Recommended for fans of: Spawn of Possession
Final verdict: 8.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
The Artifice Precept is:
– Ben Duerr (vocals)
– Jacob Garcia (guitars)
– George Hamad (Violin)
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