Band: The Hallowed Catharsis
Album: Killowner
Label: Lacerated Enemy Records
Genre: Progressive/Tech Death
Vancouver's (BC) The Hallowed Catharsis are set to release their upcoming EP on June the 2nd, and ho boy, this is a tasty nugget. Growing tired of the usual tech death that's released to the masses, THC has crafted shorter tracks that are more vicious, brutal and unpredictable.
"Abduction Sequence" starts us off with a cool little riff, some bass walking underneath and light drums. They kick shit off with fury about 40 seconds in however, with lead vocalist Sean showcasing some very cool techniques. Guitarists Kyle and Claire seem to effortlessly weave through each other, creating layers of tone. Funky time signatures abound, and drum master Kevin keeps it all reigned in.
The track seamlessly melts into track two, "Forced Mutation." The riffs are bad-ass, but the highlight is when they dig into their funky passages with harmonics thrown in, and the blast-beats from Kevin sound solid. It seems as though the bass player Michael takes a bit of a back seat, adding a lower layer instead of having much time to shine.
"Breeding Pits" is the first track released from the band for all to listen to, and was the first one I heard from the band in general. Needless to say, it's a brief song (as they all are) and will leave your mouth watering for more. Wasting no time at all, THC blasts off in a tumultuous frenzy. About halfway through a shift in time signature is welcome, and the riff is downright nasty.
Track four begins with a riff callback to the opening track. "Swap Meat" is not just rehashing old ideas, as they bring in new elements by using those chords differently and new passages throughout. "Strays" has the strongest bass lines on the EP, and possibly some of the lowest growls we'll hear. Featuring some cool lead guitar on the second half, this has my vote for the strongest track.
Alright, forget when I mentioned the previous track having the lowest growls. Title track "Killowner" puts it to shame, with the opening growl at a thunderously low level. While the track is almost entirely build-up, the release is well worth the short wait (again, as all of these tracks are less than three minutes long).
As a whole, Killowner is a brutal taste of twisted tech death metal. This is definitely for fans of bands in the genre like Job For A Cowboy and Cattle Decapitation, among others.
I'm giving Killowner a 9/10
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