I had the privilege of listening to the album "The Fast of Solace" from TANKRUST. This is the band's first full-length release since their formation in 2010. TANKRUST's music is what I would distinguish as Melodic Deathcore. It has a very Hardcore Punk-influenced rhythm section, pushed into Death Metal tempos and fills and along with, of course, Death Metal vocals. But a lot of the music has melodic guitar leads and even synthesizers.

Although, from the superficial point of view, I came into listening to this record already feeling exhausted. But to my surprise, TANKRUST really delivered with a powerful and catchy product. Although there are moments on here, like on "Draw The Line" or "Grow Some Balls", where the songwriting teeters into hardcore or even nu-Metal territory, I found "The Fast of Solace" to still retain a high level of enjoyability. The solid, polished drum tracks really guide the audience through all of the relentless grooves and rhythms.

There are different characteristics of TANKRUST's style. Although at times the band sounds similar to SLIPKNOT, there are other times where they come off much more melodic with that Death Metal level of heaviness. There are, of course, some half-tempo breakdowns that rear their old, ugly head in some of these songs. That has to be my harshest criticism concerning their music. Although there is a tired and stale breakdown near the middle of the song "Apollo Is Dead", TANKRUST redeem it with an infectious and powerful melodic conclusion where lead guitar player Garth shows us all that he can certainly rip through those solos.

The music of TANKRUST is loud and aggressive. This is the kind of music that is heavily influenced by PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD and SEPULTURA. I think TANKRUST takes the opportunity to make the music a little more extreme than most of the well-known songs from their predecessors. They limit of heaviness peaks at several moments on "The Fast of Solace" where the double kick pedals and the screaming take over the momentum of the songs.

I think that this album certainly makes a big impression about what TANKRUST is capable of. "The Fast of Solace" was undeniably heavy and I could actually see this being a could band for fans of metal who want something that isn't really a throwback to old school styles but is trying to create something new with what the older bands have already done. TANKRUST is a band that has put a ton of talent into what they have made and although it is definitely not for everybody, they're worth checking out if you've even read this far!