Dawn of Depravity
Rebel Souls
From their EPK, "Humanity is withering away, becoming extinct as a result of its own greed and corruption. Man's empire on planet Earth is in utter decline, and this is the main theme set forth by REBEL SOULS' music and lyrics on "Dawn of Depravity," their earsplitting sophomore record, as well as by its exceptional cover artwork, created by Australian maestro Mitchell Nolte. The album is ten songs.
The title track is the first. The sound is thick with riffs, vocals, and drums, and the guitars dance around a bit between pig squeals. The guitar solo is dissonant and a bit loose, but the rhythm work shows promise. "Trophonios" is very similar. The band seems to focus on the development of the muscular rhythm section and the blast beat drumming, while the vocals don't really vary a whole lot. "Corrupting the Lambs" is a shorter blast featuring some audible bass notes in the opening that get a bit more lost as the song continues. The tone of the bass is downright bossy.
"Seas of Cries" is another song that rips into your ears and burrows into your skull. The brutality is dialed up a couple notches. Although the band stop and start on a dime many times, the music itself just doesn't change much. "Nihil Infinitum" has a familiar Death Metal romp to it that not only have aged Metalheads heard before, but also doesn't present anything new to the genre. "Beneath the Veneer" is the eighth song with yet another similar sound. It appears we are not going to get much variation on the album.
"Rebel Souls" breaks the patter that was laid down before it...beginning with tense, atmospheric tones, rather than the rhythm guitars in your face, which eventually arise. They do however focus on a little diversity in the song, but that is relative. "Virulent" closes the album. It opens with the tale that they mentioned in the beginning with spoken words. From there, the chaos continues much in the same way as other songs. Overall, the band is clearly talented. But, in their quest to make a vivacious and ripping album that never lets up, many of the songs ran together. The production is excellent, and coupled with the band's talent, they could go a lot of places. They just have to add more diversity into their music.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Dawn of Depravity" Track-listing:
1. Dawn of Depravity
2. Trophonios
3. Poisoner of the Harvest
4. Corrupting the Lambs
5. Sea of Crises
6. Three Thousand Screams
7. Nihil Infinitum
8. Beneath the Veneer
9. Rebel Souls
10. Virulent
Rebel Souls Lineup:
Stefan Hielscher - Bass, Vocals
Alex Guerrero - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Thor Nay - Guitars
Arnau Martí - Drums
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