This band is from Parma, Ital… No, wait… They are from Parma, Ohio?! That is a first for me. I googled it, and it seems to be a nice quiet city south of Cleveland. The other more famous Parma in Italy is located between Milan and Venice a little bit to the south as well. Also a nice place to visit. Thank you Google maps. From Parma (Ohio) we have  the melodic metal mixed with metalcore of LOWER 13 with the release of an EP of 5 songs named Deception. The band already has 4 full length albums under their belt but decided to release a shorter format this time. Let’s check what they got.

We start with “More Time” with a synthesizer introduction and the guitars follow the keys madness with a brutal guitar riff . Piercing vocals and pure violence. The band breaks the intensity with a melodic chorus and additional backing vocals giving the tune a completely different texture. I know we have seen this before in many other bands but LOWER 13 seems to do it in an interesting way. We follow with “Your Love Is A Curse” which is already a nice title for a song. The tune itself is a crusher and no melody duos on this one. The band had 2 very good singers on Patrick Capretta and Sean Balog and this added an extra sauce to the mix. Being able to respond to each other with the same vocal intensity is really a toll to be used. Another band that took great advantage of having great singers playing each other is KILLER BE KILLED. The duo also are very competent in their instruments.

We reach “The One To Blame” and a good crescendo guitar riff takes us back to the melodic output mixed with the guttural. The band mixes the elements well and they also provide a number of different moods in each song. Interesting compositions with intricate parts showing that they are well seasoned musicians. We stay in the melodic territory with “Holding On To Misery” with almost all the song sung in a clean vocal duet until the tune changes the mood to a guttural nightmare and once more using the 2 vocalists wisely. The work of competent drummer Eric Kruger is displayed in all tracks.

We end the EP with another melodic output “You Just Left Her” . This one has sprinkles of guttural but the the song is mostly melodic vocals interludes. Another well structured tune with great musicianship. Since they are a trio, I believe a lot of extra guitars were recorded and hopefully not much is lost on live performances. A solid work with good musicianship and good production. Great vocal choices due to the good range of the singers and the clever use of their resources. I look forward to a full album in the future with perhaps more ideas explored.