Chaos in Paradise, Decimated Existence & No Warning Shots

July 13, 2010

CHRIS

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Chaos in Paradise - Demo 2010

Metalcore is one of those sub-genres that languishes in the shopping malls, creating legions of would-be musicians on a daily basis. While I’d be lying if I said I was a fan of any of the bands of this bastard child movement I’m always open to hearing something that might catch my ear.

Chaos in Paradise offers a four-track demo of well-produced metalcore music that is of decent quality, yet lacks a little something. Vocalist Sara does a competent job with a voice that’s not very strong or unique, yet fits the tone of the music pretty well. I’m not sure her voice is of a strong enough caliber to sing metal music of any sort, but it’s far from the worst I’ve heard. As for the band, they’re well-versed in their instruments, creating some mid-range hard rock riffs that might win over some of the impressionable mallcore fans of Bullet for My Valentine or bands of a similar ilk. Still, the overall metal feel is simply not there for my liking. The music seems very mid-paced and not very exciting.

There are a couple of lucid moments of riffing, but in a song like “Antagonized” the end riffs seem to lap over each other in a six-second mess that confused me. There’s little to really get excited about here, but like I said there’s a fan base out there for this type of music so it’s all a part of personal taste, though I hasten to regard Chaos in Paradise any higher than rudimentary. 

No Warning Shots - Demo 2010

Release Date: January 23, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.  Sorrow  2.  2 the Republic  3.  Doubt  4.  Sweet Embrace
-    Total playing time: 15:43

New Jersey’s No Warning Shots releases a four-track demo EP of sub-standard metal music that lacks serious punch or any real resonation. Honestly, as I listened to this I was trying to find even one riff or vocal that was memorable and I just couldn’t.

Vocalist Greg Rubin’s delivery is absolutely without emotion, feeling or drive and issues screams that sound exactly like Joe, the wheelchair-bound neighbor on Family Guy. I mean, you would swear it’s the voice of Joe, especially on the opening track “Sorrow.” I seriously kept waiting to hear the familiar “Let’s do it!!” pound through my speakers. The music is just okay, nothing special or memorable throughout. The guys handle their instruments well, but there’s no pizzazz or energy anywhere here. For metal fans the long-lasting effects of the music and/or lyrics are what keep us coming back for more, and the lyrics here are completely mundane and amateurish in both design and diction. This is what every pre-garage band offers before finding that little voice inside that clicks on the light of enthusiasm in a cellar of dark.

I understand well the beginnings of the demo process; I was a part of it some twenty-years ago myself, and what we thought was the greatest thing since Zeppelin II we now look back on and cringe. I’m not necessarily dismissing this band’s integrity, but I am wondering what the band might accomplish if they actually felt the music as opposed to just playing it. If there’s no pure energy and love in the music there’s simply no interest, plain and simple.      

Decimated Existence - Cycle of Descent

Release Date:  March 15, 2010
Band Self Released
TRACK LISTING:     1.  New Order  of the Ages  2.  Origins of the Esoteric Order  3.  Heretic Scribe  4.  In the Wake of Megalodon  5.  Godskull  6.  The Fallen  7.  This Distant Void  8.  Apocalypse of Our Extinction  9.  Arcane Perception      
-    Total playing time: 25:50

Fans of Fleshgod Apocalypse, Decrepit Birth and early Suffocation will almost surely like Virginia’s Decimated Existence, whose brand of brutal death metal is just what the butcher ordered. Unrelenting, gouge-inflicting brutality is what you can expect here, as well some serious introspective lyrical content. I’ve always maintained that metal music is a thinker’s music, and when a band initiates the listener to think outside the box I’m usually even more attentive.

Decimated Existence issues its Cycle of Descent demo that opens with former President George W. Bush giving a small speech about the New Order of the ages, which is a very nice set up to the music. When “Origins of the Esoteric Order” begins it’s with some very technically sound riffing, creating a fluid vibe that shifts gears here and there throughout the CD. While typically death metal in essence and style, there is some real discernable music throughout each track. Vocalist/Guitarist Derek growls his way through the lyrics, implementing all of the devices of a Frank Mullen or John McEntee yet still keeping this obligatory style entertaining. The band creates a similar vibe to that of Incantation’s later work with some Fleshgod Apocalypse and Vital Remains for measure, yet still finding the formula to make a worthy demo that shouldn’t be dismissed.

I also enjoy it when a death metal band has a concise message other than splattering blood on operating tables and foggy cellar windows (though the occasional violent outburst is just fine with me). The band’s premise seems to be awakening the non-thinker into a state of personal mental strength and self-empowerment, a topic dear to my black little heart. When you get into the lyrical section of the band’s arsenal you’ll be enlightened. From “The Distant Void:









Hopefully a label will find these guys and give them some backing; we could use a hit of adrenaline like this every now and again. I like the more cerebral bands among us that make me think.           

DOWNLOAD Cycle of Descent FREE from the band's myspace page (click on link above).

TO THE TOP

Release Date:  2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.  Dawn  2.  Heading North  3.  The Meaning of Being Imposed 
4.  Antagonized       -    Total playing time: 17:29

DOWNLOAD Demo 2010 from the band's myspace page (click on link above).

DOWNLOAD Demo 2010 FREE from the band's bandcamp page: http://nwshots.bandcamp.com/album/demo-ep

“Reflect upon the images of war
To bring about the fire inside
Deafening sight of mile high grave stones
Burning from the illuminous eye
Controlled interests currently detained
The weakened feeble minds of man
Completed stages of an initiative
Will bring your liberties to an end“

DEMO ARCHIVE