The 2014 Arsies: January 20, 2014

CHAMPIONSEMIFINALSQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16Misery SignalsThe OceanMisery SignalsGorgutsByzantineGorgutsROUND OF 16SoilworkIntronautSoilworkSevendustSevendustExhumedQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16The Dillinger Escape PlanThe Dillinger Escape PlanAnciientsThe Psyke ProjectKillswitch EngageThe Psyke ProjectROUND OF 16KarnivoolKarnivoolAmon AmarthRazormazeRazormazeHatesphereSEMIFINALSQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16RevocationRevocationInter ArmaDarkaneDeath Ray VisionDarkaneROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32Protest The HeroAll Pigs Must DieROUND OF 32CarcassI Killed EveryoneQUARTERFINALSROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32The Black Dahlia MurderScale The SummitROUND OF 32Thy Art Is MurderExtolROUND OF 16ROUND OF 32TesseracTNorma JeanROUND OF 32SuffocationStomach EarthFebruary 17, 2014February 13, 2014February 7, 2014January 28, 2014Absent LightPelagialAbsent LightColored SandsByzantineColored SandsJanuary 29, 2014The Living InfiniteHabitual LevitationsThe Living InfiniteBlack Out The SunBlack Out The SunNecrocracyFebruary 10, 2014January 30, 2014One Of Us Is The KillerOne Of Us Is The KillerHeart of OakGuillotineDisarm The DescentGuillotineJanuary 31, 2014AsymmetryAsymmetryDeceiver Of The GodsAnnihilatiaAnnihilatiaMurderlustFebruary 14, 2014February 11, 2014February 3, 2014RevocationRevocationSky BurialThe Sinister SupremacyWe Ain't Leavin' Till You're...The Sinister SupremacyFebruary 4, 2014January 20, 2014VolitionNothing Violates This NatureJanuary 21, 2014Surgical SteelNecrospireFebruary 12, 2014February 5, 2014January 22, 2014EverblackThe MigrationJanuary 23, 2014HateExtolFebruary 6, 2014January 24, 2014Altered StateWrongdoersJanuary 27, 2014Pinnacle Of BedlamStomach Earth
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January 20, 2014

Listen to today’s competitors on TIDAL

Welcome back, my friends... and let’s quickly make with the metal!
Protest The Hero gets us going with their fourth studio album, Volition, and as is the band’s custom, this recording is a progressive speed metal assault from the very first track. Everything that you would expect from PtH is here in spades: ridiculously musicianship, arbitrary time signature changes, and conspicuously awkward lyrics adorn every track on the album. But after a few songs that, frankly, sound like they could be from the last two albums, the band surprise us by showing signs of evolution, restraint, and even maturity. The back-to-back combo of Yellow Teeth and Plato’s Tripartite is the high water mark, but the loftier PtH stays in attendance throughout the rest of the album. The very slight attenuation of their self-indulgence yields added focus and emotional weight to their riffs and motifs. Also, guest drummer Chris Adler (Lamb Of God) is a seamless replacement, and I like to think that he adds further grounding to the boys from Ontario. All told, this is easily PtH’s best work of the last five years.
Then there’s All Pigs Must Die. Take all of the virtuosity and complication of PtH, and replace it with repeated slow and angry punches to the breadbasket. For half an hour. And yet Nothing Violates This Nature is a noticeable improvement over the band’s previous album, God Is War. The unfriendly wall of noise here is more focused and louder than ever, from the start is merciless and severe. And yet, here too is an album that starts to show more breadth, hinting at other genres like doom and sludge. This variety is a welcome bit of palate cleansing, but even so, Nothing Violates This Nature is a hell of a workout for the listener (which is impressive for an album that’s barely more than an EP).
So despite the obvious power of All Pigs Must Die, it is Protest The Hero what takes the day. Huzzah! We’ll see how they fare in two weeks. Tomorrow, we check out the return of Carcass, versus I Killed Everyone.

 
 
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