Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Back in the early 2000’s, mathcore influenced tech-death was just beginning, led by the likes of Into The Moat, Ion Dissonance, and a handful of others. Among the original wave was Starring Janet Leigh from Ontario who was at the forefront of this new merger between styles. While they’re defunct now, their early efforts and especially their 2009 album, Spectrum, has lived on in underground circles as a release well ahead of its time. Sometime after dissolution, the group’s two core members, Guitarist/backing vocalist Chris Sokoloski and drummer Aaron Pozzer would form a new group carrying on much of what they began as Starring Janet Leigh under the new name of VileDriver where they’re joined by vocalist Justin Patkai.
After a long wait, the time is finally here for the release of the group’s debut, Primary, set for release this Friday, December 12th through CDN Records. We’ve got the full early stream of Primary below for you to check out. Harsh and chaotic is the name of the game here on Primary, and damn does VileDriver know how to craft impenetrably dense and fucked up technical death metal that comes from a very dark and disturbing place. This isn't bright and fluffy shred, but for those who like a bit of grit and vileness with their tech-death, Primary should please you.
It’s hard to pin their style down as it shifts a lot from song to song and moment to moment. So I’ll quote the band on what they do to provide more clarity: “Disassembling the structure of metal, bringing together influences of tech, death, hardcore and thrash delivered with spastic form.” All of that is spot on, especially the idea that what VileDriver accomplishes musically here is an intriguing deconstruction of many influences and styles re-combined together in a freshly warped and densely packed manner.
If you’re a fan of groups like Cryptopsy, The Schoenberg Automaton, Beneath The Massacre, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Dillinger Escape Plan and Ion Dissonance, that should be a pretty good predictor as to whether Primary will be up your alley or not. Because it honestly sounds like a deranged blend of bits and pieces of all those groups in an absurd number of different combinations and varied manners of stringing their disparate influences together into caustic and heavy songs. Speaking of the songs, this is such an absurdly busy album where chaos reigns and the music is quite unpredictably structured that it’s best to give this your full attention when you put it on. Then maybe give it a few more spins, you’ll need it, there’s so much to unpack on Primary. But it definitely seems to make more sense and “work” for me at least, after having spent numerous full spins with it and learning its spastic ever-shifting depths more intimately.
From start to finish, Primary is chockful of incredibly energetic and intense technical death metal, it often feels purposefully overwhelming, like a vice made out of sound alone capable of caving in heads after only minimal exposure to it. This is really interesting and maniacal release with a well-developed sound thanks to VileDriver's members many years playing together already in Starring Janet Leigh into the present crafting a style all their own. So jam Primary below, and if you’re digging it, you can order the album through the CDN Records Bandcamp Page and also through the CDN Records Website. Be sure to follow the group over on the VileDriver Facebook page as well.
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