Battlecross - Pursuit of Honor
Rating
RIYL
The AbsenceLamb of God
The Black Dahlia Murder
Release Date
08/02/2011
Label
Metal BladeTracklist
1. Pursuit of Honor2. Push Pull Destroy
3. Kaleb
4. Deception
5. Man of Stone
6. Breaking You
7. Rupture
8. Leech
9. Better Off Dead
10. Misery
11. Foreshadowing
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Hailing from Detroit Michigan, Battlecross have unleashed their Metal Blade Records debut (second career album), Pursuit of Honor, an eleven-song offering of melodic thrash mixed with some death metal influences. The band has been around since 2007 and spent many of those years creating a buzz in the underground metal scene, eventually earning the attention of Metal Blade Records. Considering the band has been together for a few years and previously released an album, it should be no surprise that their Metal Blade outing is a solid debut on the label; however, the quintet still has their work cut out for them when it comes to crafting a truly great record.
On any given track, you’ll hear dual guitar harmonies, ridiculous bass lines, powerful vocals, and exceptional drumming. However, singling out any one song proves to be problematic because, for the most part, they all sound the same. Structuring songs serves its purpose in all forms of music, but Battlecross relies on structure too much here, fitting each track into more or less the same verse/chorus/verse/chorus template. Also, every track is played at blazing speeds, which doesn’t help the differentiation issue. An instrumental interlude or slower tune here or there would really help pull the album together and give listeners a chance to catch their breath.
Despite the issues with Pursuit of Honor, it’s still an album that any band would be proud to call their own. It does exactly what a major label debut album should do – set the stage for future releases and leave listeners wanting more. While the album can become monotonous at times, each track holds up on its own, mainly due to Battlecross’s technical prowess. Playing metal of this caliber requires astute musical proficiency, and these guys have it in spades. If Battlecross can add some variation to their songs and learn how to pace an album, they could be in the top tier of modern metal bands, but for now they’ll have to settle for being simply above average.
--Nicholas Fritz
Comments
Reno, NV
Sounds worth checking out.
Current Listenings:
Psychollywood - Psychollywood
Royal Thunder - Cvi
The Next Hundred Years - Troppo
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Kill Devil Hill - Kill Devil Hill
Minnesota
This entire album is extremely "same-y" sounding, but it isn't really a bad album. I dig it for what it is.
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