SHEEPHEAD? What the fuck is this? That was basically my reaction seeing the name of the band. So SHEEPHEAD (Semicossyphus pulcher) is a fish native to the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The sheephead can reach a size of 91 cm and a weight of 16 kg. The male is black with a white jaw and a broad red band spanning the body transversally. The female is pink. The juvenile form is bright red with a white stripe spanning the body. All sheepheads are born as females and eventually change to males (WOW!). The age of the transition depends on environmental factors such as food supply.
Oh...OK, OK...I'm out of the subject again. It's really weird...but this record arrived to our magazine a year late!!! Anyway, this is the first full-length release from SHEEPHEAD (actually a self-release), a German Death/Metalcore act that isn't doing a bad job at all!
I could say that this band flirts more with the metalcore act than it should. But this time the Death Metal influences are not so few...listen to Guilt And Instinct or Epigone Inc. for example. It's like the band is trying to find the thin line between the 'fistful Metal of THE HAUNTED, the melodic deathly spirit of IN FLAMES and the metalcore American attitude.
See the melody and aggression of The Plague or Empery Of Flesh. Nice idea to put also some female vocals on The Phantomime. The track really stands out! The vocals of Benjamin Lipp  are a mixture of mostly screaming ones with some brutal growling. I would prefer to see him adding some more growls in the future.
Their five year cooperation as a unit is more than obvious. The band is extremely tight! Kicking ass-tight, that makes me wonder if you out there in the record labels are doing some serious job or just letting bands with talent and attitude disappear!
Also the production is absolutely wonderful! Many big bands would love to have such a dynamic and powerful sound! If you want to listen to some Deathcore that does some real damage you should check them out! I will certainly keep an eye on them in the future...