Wall of Palemhor - Sing and Bleed
“It Makes You Feel Drunk, Dirty, and Twenty Years Old Again”
Written by Big Bear Buchko

I have a soft spot in my heart for self-described “hardcore” metal; harder than heavy metal, more groove-oriented than death metal – it sits somewhere comfortably between nu-metal and just plain noise. Few have graced this genre with a definable precision; Hemlock comes to mind; Pro-Pain ; and the always legendary Hatebreed , who are currently on the road celebrating their 30th ^anniversary as a band. And I think one of the biggest reasons for a pronounced trepidation of treading into this arena is because of the likelihood of doing it wrong; too gravely and you're diet death metal; too much of a hip-hop influence and you're basically Sevendust . To get it truly right takes talent and planning.

Wall of Palemhor from Parma, Italy does it right, and as such, their new and second full-length album, Sing and Bleed , is one of the best indie records that I've heard all year. It's not without its faults and the quality of the material dips greatly as the album ticks on, but pound for pound, Wall of Palemhor can hold their hardcore horns up in the air with some of the best of them. They've got their grooves, they've got their blast beats, and they have an excellent production team behind what they do, and that is what you find on Sing and Bleed . Now, let's tear it apart…

We open with “ Fool's Rule ,” and I am immediately struck by notes of great, old-fashioned late-'80s and early '90s hardcore punk and thrash; with a noticeable groove, an atmospheric breakdown, and one hell of a heavy bridge near the end. The guitars are wonderfully chuggy, and the production value is stellar for such an independent release. The opening to the next track – “ Forgotten Land ” – is… well, lame. “Come wITH ME TO FORGOtTeN LaAaAaAaAnd!” No. That's… no. But while the opening makes you cramp up in the guts a little, the breakdown for this one is violently sick, and almost makes those first few moments bearable. “ GOYM ” is the highlight of their industrial punk cavalcade, giving you those high-up-on-the-fret board Rammstein-esque guitar riffs that bring a little more fire to the mosh pit below. “ GOYM ” has an amazing harmonic chorus that suggests it's probably the Wall of Palemhor show closer. Another cut with tremendous production value, it hits hard with extra crunchy guitars front and center.

The album peaks with “ Imminent Tragedy ,” a song so beautifully reminiscent of old heavy metal that it makes you feel drunk, dirty, and twenty years old again. It's permeated again with another outstanding hard, head-banging groove, and features a genuinely impressive vocal performance from front man Davide Gorlini . But as I said, this is where the album peaks. From “ Memories ” to “ Rebel Cells ” and all the way down to the short, spoken word closing track “ Wishlist of Pain ,” the quality dips down and dips hard. That's not to say it's not still an incredible record – it is, but it's certainly a record you'll listen to the first half of way more than you would the second half. There's nothing wrong with that. Hell, that's the way most albums used to be, with the few and very rare exception of those otherworldly records that you can love on repeat from front to back. This isn't that, but that's okay!

To really illustrate the “independent” nature of their release, the cover for Sing and Bleed is… not great. While the girl on fire imagery isn't too terribly awful, their font choices, especially for the name of the record, could certainly chase away the more discerning audiophile. I would have been one of them, but that's not the kind of choice you can make as an album reviewer. But I *can* bitch about it!

All in all and complaints aside, Sing and Bleed is still a stellar stand-out representing the new hardcore. The band is based in Italy, so I can't guarantee I'll be banging on the rack for them anytime soon, but anyone who happens to be in the area or looking to travel, come in and make some noise for me !