Destroyer Destroyer - Littered with Arrows
Rating
RIYL
ConvergeDaughters
Architect
Pig Destroyer
Tracklist
1. Trial2. Golden Technique
3. Horse-Drawn
4. Littered with Arrows
5. Off the Beaten Path
6. We've Been Had [Version]
7. Dead Weight as Far as the Eye Can See
8. Daddy Long Legs
9. Schools Named After Presidents
10. Number Cruncher
11. Feeling Is Mutual
12. Error
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
Destroyer Destroyer are one of those bands that are going to be hard to ‘get’. Even people who listen to metal may be taken back by the impressively chaotic nature of their debut, Littered with Arrows. This album is a no holds barred visceral attack on your eardrums. Mine are still trying to recover. Grindcore is hard to review because any sane person would hear this and say that it was just noise, as well as downright frightening. But there are some who can hear the creativity and passion captured in each arrangement. This review is for those who can appreciate the pure madness that some bands can create through their songwriting, which can still be considered worthwhile art.
The first thing you can’t help but notice are the piercing screams of vocalist Jamie Schnetzler. These aren’t your mom’s high pitched vocals. Each scream sounds like the squealing brakes of a car that is about to slam into a massive pile-up. While we are on the subject, the rest of the band sounds like a massive pile-up. All of the instruments on the recording crash into each other creating gruesome sounds that you would expect to hear at the scene of an accident. But much like the rubbernecking pedestrian who walks by and gawks at the scene, you can’t help but be intrigued and a little enthralled by the situation.
The songwriting on this record is completely hit or miss. Like most grindcore, they try to fit a lot of ideas into a short amount of time. The first few tracks blend together way before you are able to tell that they moved on to the next song. I found myself enjoying a lot of what was going on thinking it was one song but then realizing that I had just listened to a bunch of tracks in a row. “Off The Beaten Path” is a remarkable instrumental which breaks up the disorder of the first few songs. It sounds like one long breakdown with a nice underlying melody. “We’ve Been Had” and “Daddy Long Legs” are good examples of how to write a well defined grindcore song. This one-two punch kept me headbanging the entire time. The second half of the album is where all the true talent of the band is displayed especially on the brutal “Number Cruncher”, which contains an excellent big sludgy groove.
I found myself wanting more low end the entire time I was listening to this record. The vocals are really overpowering and cut through the other instruments like a chainsaw. When combined with the overheads, it’s hard to focus on anything else. There are a lot of great ideas found on this record but they are spent on some questionable songwriting. This is a band that has the potential to release some really innovative grindcore in the future. For now, we can all enjoy the better part of this album and hope that the band delivers on their next effort.
--Dave Spak
Comments
Troy, Michigan
Minnesota
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Norman OK