www.cdnrecords.com
8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS
Brain Stem play modern sounding death metal with plenty of groove and a quite percussive attack, with plenty of technicality. During their more melodic moments (which are few and far between) and during some of their groovier moments, they remind me of Kataklysm, even though they don't sound terribly like them. It's more the rhythms that make me think of them, and the songwriting. The drummer turns in a fabulous performance and I would definitely consider him one of the top drummers in the scene today. In fact, all the instrumentation is this talented. The guitars and bass are technical, and weave a tapestry for the drums to color. The vocals are the high point here. They're incredibly well-sung, using all sorts of growling techniques, sometimes in the same measure, and the vocalists delivery is rapid-fire and forceful as fuck. He elevates this from just another talented tech death offering to something I want to listen to, because of his vocals. He also knows when to use each of his different growls for maximum effect, and routinely embellishes his lines with little grunts or extraneous roars. It's quite the performance, and one I'll be listening to again soon! I hope to add this to my collection at some point.
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