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Angelmaker's Angelmaker Angelmakes an Angelmaker Album

So basically, Angelmaker made a great album. You're welcome.

By Chase PozziPublished 5 years ago 6 min read
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Well, 2019, a lot like 2018, was a year. Not only was it a year, but it was also another fantastic year for metal, in my opinion. One of my biggest favorites being Enterprise Earth's Luciferous, and Fleshgod Apocalypse's Veleno. There were more fantastic efforts this year. There are more albums that I am definitely excited for, Organectomy, Brand of Sacrifice, et cetera. But none really hid down low as much as a particular band. This being Angelmaker.

Who's Angelmaker? Well, Angelmaker is a Deathcore band hailing from the Canadian Land. What makes these guys a bit different as a Deathcore group is their vocalist....s. Yep, these dudes have two vocalists. Mike Greenwood and Casey Tyler-Pearce. This for sure makes their band unique when compared to the bands out there today, such as Carnifex, or Thy Art is Murder. Not only that, Angelmaker has a very old fashioned sound in regards to their genre, even including elements of beatdown and black metal. Heard across an EP, two splits, and what is now two full-length records. As of May 30th, 2019, at 10 PM Mountain. Guess what I'll be reviewing today?

That's right, Angelmaker's self-titled album.

ANGELMAKER

Might I mention, quite a sick album cover.

Angelmaker did tease this album quite a bit, and by a bit, I mean three singles. I'll talk about these later. Now let's start talking about this thing. Oh boy. This album is 14 songs and 50 minutes, so it will be plenty to talk about. Let's do this!

Alright. "Dolor," a 30-second acoustic intro track, that's about it. But it does lead to "I Long for Rest"—this song has no problem in pummeling some faces in, with some slamming drums, and revving of chains—I mean, guitars. This song is definitely one of the heaviest of the other songs. Taking some elements of brutal death metal and sludge. I did forget to mention that their rhythm guitarist is a vocalist, as well. Despite the number of vocalists in the group, they're very easy to tell apart, which is already another plus. Some groups with multiple vocalists, do use the multiple vocalist concept as more of a gimmick for the band, instead of utilizing that as a weapon for the group.

Next up, "The Veil." A good portion of this song does share some elements to their last record, Dissentient's first track, "Godless." With the vocals zipping through words over a classic Deathcore groove of 0's, this works well in both cases, as it isn't overused in this group. Angelmaker for sure knows how to mix up a genre riddled with eight strings and china cymbals. A common element used in this album as well is this sort of background noise of high picking of guitars. As a drummer, I have no idea what it's called, but it is another element that goes superb in this records sound. Speaking of sound, "In Death" trades the fast blackened noise of the past two songs for a slamming groove that lasts a bit too short. It does leave the listener wanting more.

Now, there are some problems on this record during the middle to end portion, while it is little, it does become recurring. The movie samples. At this point, it is more of a trope than anything in this genre in particular, while in some songs such as "Bloodthirster" and "Hollow Heart" works out well. "Origin" has a pretty pointless sample in the beginning. It never really goes anywhere after that. The song is great, another one of the heavier, groove-oriented songs on this setlist. Some of the black metal elements seen on Dissentient aren't as present as they are here, but of course, there are some moments. With sound, they pay more attention to combining melody and absolute destruction. A common occurrence in a majority of the songs, the pattern of heavy/melody/heavy/melody does become apparent but doesn't really kill the tone of the record. "Ad Victoriam" follows this as well.

Speaking of tone and sound, I forgot to mention the production. Well, for a group that takes a helluva lot of pride in the Deathcore noise, they found a great mix and master. Even on the slower tunes such as "Requiem." Which is like if Black Tongue walked in and said "Betcha can't sludge this." "Requiem" is for sure another one of the best, using almost a droning tone of the guitars, but have no problem in keeping the drummer busy. It does pick up about halfway through but slows down again near the end. This song uses that same melody that consistently runs through the record. "Radiance in the Light of a Dying Sun" does the same thing but mixes a thrashy beat with their signature sound. "Radiance" has the best solo on the record, hands down.

Tempest is the last single they released, mixing a lot of sounds into the box that we call this song. Jumpy beats, pummeling your face in, with a melodic chorus, any surprise? Still adds to the song. This song also has a really nifty riff at the beginning of the song, This song is an interesting tune, to say the least.

"mybodyisnotwhole" is as scary as hell. I regret listening to this at this hour. With help from Merzbow, a Japanese noise project, they create a prelude to arguably the most moshable song of the album, and probably of the year.

This song wasn't made to follow Angelmaker's formula, it was made to kick teeth in. This is the best way to hear each individual vocalist, as well. Because the third quarter to the end of the song is them screaming for a moment, getting lower and angrier at each moment, before finishing with a final "FUCK." To quote them during their live practice: the aggression. This is a song you just need to listen to, instead of hearing me ramble about. So please, listen to it, then finish reading.

By the way, we're 12 songs in. Now we're on The Rabbit. The title intrigued me when they first revealed the songs the months prior to releasing this record. Boy does it pass fast. It is another one of the Face-pummel-maker tunes. It does a little pickup of tempo at the beginning, turning into another groove-fest with each instrument working off of each other. The song finishes with a cheeky little sample, which kicks off the final track. "Eternal." With a very fitting pig squeal over blast beats, this is where we get one last taste of that heavy melody we hear consistently through the album. I do forget to mention that gang shouts are included here as well. Hollow Heart had two there, as well, gang shouts are actually a very nice addition to the sound we get from Angelmaker. "Eternal" is also the longest song on the album, clocking in at nearly six minutes. I can't forget about the near end of the album kicking off a Spanish beat at the 3 and a half minute mark. This is super percussive, with an acoustic solo, the drums having fun with a multitude of instruments, as well. That's quite the way to close off a record.

Well, let's do the whole wrap-up thing to a conclusion, ya know. This album, at times, can be repetitive, with a pattern you can pick up over time, but that doesn't really kill the groove. A really solid solution to this is changing up the riffs, the drumming, and the sound each song. It doesn't become annoying, either. They wear that, along with the Deathcore name, as a badge of honor throughout the record. The ending is very much satisfying and very unique to a genre as angry as Deathcore is. Good job, Angelmaker!

Angelmaker S/T Gets an 8.5/10.Check out Angelmaker, out May 31st.

Favorite Tracks: "In Death," "Hollow Heart," and "Requiem."

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About the Creator

Chase Pozzi

Hey you! I'm Chase, I listen to Metal, and I write about it when I feel like it. I'm mad lazy, and mad hungry so uhh. Fun.

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