Deride - First Round Knockout
(The Music Cartel)In tandem with its stomach-juddering, mind-shuddering cover art (now, THAT's scary!), Norway's Deride hone their slamming metal sound, toning down the melodies of the Scars Of Time debut, coming off as a cross between Superjoint Ritual, Pantera, Black Label and fast, hard Entombed. It works a charm, each of these tracks headbanging tightly, purposefully, purely, with a great recording and way too much talent for a band this young. Frediablo's vocals are mixed quite a ways back, maybe too far, even if the effect allows the heart-stomping riffs and grooves to blast a metal hole in the ozone. There's a squared-off quality to these songs, a military march feel that gives them a missionary zeal and together, a character for the band that is all their own, the first hint of melody coming on the eighth track out of nine, an amazing Stuck Mojo-like song called Live While You're Alive. But the key is that you don't miss hooks because you are too busy standing and watching the damage take place.
Rating 8.5