SMITE THE RIGHTEOUS ARE MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS ON THEIR DEBUT
In 2009, it seems the best way to make innovative death metal is to not employ slams. After the dozens of avenues the genre has gone down – melodic, brutal, blackened, thrashy, numerous combinations of those, and so on – old is new again, and after a few years of interchangeable breakdown-prone ‘core enthusiasts, death metal’s scraggly faithful are more interested in hearing the genre done well as opposed to yet another “What if we combined THIS with death metal?!” band. Of course, revisiting can lead to rehashing incredibly easily (see: thrash revival), and the best of those invested in the past know that there’s a certain energy that needs to be pumped into it in order to give it purpose. Smite the Righteous, a melodic death/thrash collective from Massachusetts, waver on the revisit-rehash line, stumbling onto either side throughout the course of their debut full length The Thirst for Violence. But in its best moments it displays a looseness and a vested interest sorely missing from death metal’s crop of regurgitaters. Though still rough around the edges, the band seem to get it a lot more than some.
The Thirst for Violence’s greatest strength is the band’s relationship with each other. In an environment where chemistry between players is usually provided artificially in post-production, Smite the Righteous sound like a band working off of one another, comfortable with the eccentricities of their bandmates. They’re also familiar with their influences without directly ripping them off. The Death-isms on “The Bitter Taste of Dissent” and “Built on the Ashes of Ancients” recall Death, but breathe and operate on their own terms. And the spidery thrash riff that acts as the backbone of “Fair Weather No More” manages to gets one blood pumping after a decade of At the Gates-aping metalcore. Even the very few breakdowns that rear their well-flogged heads don’t feel shoehorned in, but instead the product of a band that isn’t afraid of groove (as is evident by the band’s MVP, drummer Chris Helme).
Their problem, though – aside from occasionally cringe-worthy vocals and production that’s more murky than raw – is that they occasionally veer into territory still too well trod to be able to find new ground. The minor key melodic death metal arpeggios on “Those Beautiful Eyes” and the Swede-tastic riffing on “The Bullet Song” evoke a feeling of “here we go AGAIN” instead of friendly nostalgia. But still, there’s a flicker potential even in the band’s most dull moments, a love and interest in the music they’re playing as opposed to a bunch of tweenagers happening upon the death metal we’ve been enjoying for the better part of two decades. Like their regional death/thrash companions Revocation, they know it takes more than speed and some warmed over Schuldiner to make worthwhile death metal. In a time when looking back is more desirable than looking forward (the future’s seemingly full of floppy haircuts and the desire to mosh to EVERYTHING), Smite the Righteous have the potential to do so correctly.
(3 out of 5 horns)
-SO
