Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Word Alive - Deceiver (2010)


Enjoy Track Number 1: The Hounds Of Anubis.


I didn't know what to expect going into this album, I really liked The Word Alive's self titled EP (or demo or whatever It was), but I found Empire EP to be a tad lacking. While Empire was musically cleaner and polished, it lacked the intensity that seemed to ooze out of the Self Titled. I figured The Word Alive would be one of those bands that were going to water down their sound for the sake of accessibility, I should've known better. As if to dispel any doubts people might have had against them, Deciever starts off with a bang. The first track, The Hounds Of Anubi, starts off sounding like The Word Alive I know and love, and then it gets so much better. This band has grown in leaps and bounds since their last release. The first thing to instantly catch my attention was the synths…I don't remember The Word Alive having a keyboardist, if they did it was really downplayed. Synths play a key part in just about every song on Deceiver, and they're good enough to stand toe to toe with acts like Arsonists Get All The Girls. The second thing that made my jaw drop was the structural complexity and diversity of this album. Deceiver is much more progressive than anything the band has released to date. They take Progressive Metalcore, splice it with Emocore, throw a dash of Math in there to make the heavy parts heavier and to give the melodic segments a little extra oomph, then sprinkle on influences from a number of genres ranging from dubstep to grindcore. The last thing that made me do a double take was the production quality of this album. They went through this one with a fine tooth comb to make every second of this album the best it could be. This is one of those albums where you can hear how much work was put into even the smallest details, and it definitely pays off. This is one of the best releases I've heard this year. If you fancy yourself a fan of music, definitely check this album out, I guarantee it'll be worth your time.

Download HERE!!!