Lorelei Get Witchy Down in “Salem Town”

I feel about deathcore these days the same way I feel about djent: now that the clichés have become so tired that most of the early stalwarts are shying away from breakdowns, deathcore artists are turning to more inventive instrumentation and themes to shake some energy into their music. And like with djent, the most recent results of this evolution are surprisingly captivating. A vibrant technical deathcore scene has been developing in the US, fueled by intense online promotion.

Case in point: North Carolina’s Lorelei. They blend the symphonic theatrics of Ovid’s Withering with the fast-paced tech assault of Job for a Cowboy or Slice the Cake. Liberal with the grooves and conservative with the breakdowns, the music is flavored with dense keyboards, filthy vocals, and macabre evocations. Some killer singles have been floating around for months, but the band finally released their debut full-length, Lore of Lies, last Tuesday. They’ve also just dropped a new video for the track “Salem Town,” which you can watch below. I really dig the track, especially the first couple minutes – that high-paced tech-thrash kind of reminds me of Sikth and there are some gritty mathcore riffs toward the middle. The plot is pretty unclear outside of the “band playing in an abandoned space w/ creepy demonic girl” trope; I’m not sure why the vocalist is dripping black goop before going to hang out smiling in a burning room. Still, the song is catchy as hell; my only complaint falls on the production. The keyboards’ and guitars’ volume should be swapped – subtle sounds get buried a little too often in the mix.

What you think? Is deathcore going to lead to the eventual breakdown (eyyyy) of the metal scene or are bands finally figuring out how to step it up?

Lore of Lies is out now on Subliminal Groove Records.