Now, for some, deathcore is a touchy subject. Despite what the pimple-poppers who live in the darkened corners of metal forums might tell you, there are indeed good deathcore acts out there. Despised Icon, Shadow of Intent, and Rings of Saturn all come to mind (and let’s fucking face it, no matter how much you like em, RoS are deathcore, ya hosers.) But king amongst these bands are Australia’s Thy Art is Murder. Despite starting their career off on the wrong foot with the abysmal Infinite Deaths EP, they showed serious promise on their follow-up album, The Adversary. This potential was capitalized on with Hate and fully realized on Holy War and the band’s appearance on the Depression Sessions EP (it was basically a glorified Thy Art single). So, following the upward swing the band has been on, where does that leave Dear Desolation?
Right at the top, apparently. While Holy War utilized near-symphonic guitars and cavernous, echoing vocals to create a rather “atmospheric” listening experience, Dear Desolation opts to drop a bar of lead on the gas pedal and leave it there for most of the album’s thirty-eight minute runtime. There’s a lot more “death” than “core” on this album, and the lightning fast riffage and relentless, pummelling drums both attest to this fact. When compared to Thy Art’s previous albums, Dear Desolation is the band’s most riff-heavy offering to date. Deathcore bands aren’t exactly known for their excellent riffs, but Thy Art have pushed themselves to the max here. From the Mortal Kombat inspired riff on “Puppet Master” to the ominous thrash riffs that have been slowed down to a snail’s pace on “Death Dealer,” listeners are constantly given reminders that Thy Art are the reigning kings of Deathcore.
But beyond the blistering nut crushing riffs, Thy Art have one other trump card up their sleeves (and no, it isn’t a failed healthcare reformation plan), the vocals of CJ McMahon. The dude is a growling, snarling monster, and he lays waste to any track he’s featured on. CJ’s vocals are distinct enough for even casual listeners to instantly recognize them, and at the same time, they bring enough “proper” death metal energy to the music for even the trvest ov trÖlls to admit “yeah, he’s pretty good” before they retreat back to the hallowed grounds of the Metalsucks comment section. CJ has a habit of enunciating words in strange ways, spitting out words with emphasis on the wrong syllable, or snapping off individual words in a completely different vocal style. It makes the vocals an invigorating and genuinely exciting thing to listen to, as they’re unpredictable and energetic in a way that’s uniquely tied to McMahon, and by extension, to Thy Art is Murder.
I’d be remiss to leave the fantastic drumming out of this review. Lee Stanton has three speeds at which he can drum, and he cycles through them liberally on Dear Desolation. Those speeds being Menacingly Slow, Fast, and Holy Fucking Moley, That’s Fast, with the latter being the band’s MO for most of the album.There’s a razor thin line between pummelling and generic background noise, and the risk of crossing that line is one Thy Art aren’t afraid to take, and so far they’ve not burned themselves playing with that particular fire yet. When I say the drums are relentless, I mean relentless. Their primal savagery makes them sound like they were lifted straight from the soundtrack to a Mad Max-ian war ensemble, which makes sense, considering Thy Art ARE Aussies, and after all, Mad Max is just a documentary depicting a normal Australian Saturday. It makes one wonder if the hostile (everything in Australia is meaner than you, and wants you dead) climate helped to shape Thy Art’s sound in the same way the frosty snowscapes of Norway helped shape black metal as we know it. One can only wonder.
A few short months ago, Suicide Silence’s frontman Eddie Hermida used an interview to jab at (or “throw shade” if you breathe through your mouth and have upwards of three snapback hats in your closet) Thy Art, even in the wake of SS’s self-titled album earning near universal contempt from both fans and casual observers. He used this opportunity to say that bands like Thy Art would be the “death” of deathcore (there’s a pun to be made there, I’m sure of it.) This is funny, considering that Dear Desolation may very well be one of the best deathcore album produced since the genre’s conception, and stands shoulder to shoulder with the genre’s best, something Suicide Silence can’t claim about any of their cut-rate platters of breakdowns. Thy Art is Murder are at the top of their game, and they’re, *ahem*, murdering the competition. If you allow this album to pass you by simply because it’s deathcore, I don’t want to be friends with you and you should hang your head in shame.
I’m a harsh reviewer. I make a point of giving As out only to albums that I deem truly special. Fortunately for my listening pleasure, yet unfortunately for my credibility as an author, many of the albums I’ve reviewed in my short tenure at Indy Metal Vault have been awarded As, and Dear Desolation is no exception. An absolute masterclass.
Dear Desolation is now available via Nuclear Blast Records.