Hematovore Untitled Reviews
Hematovore's instrumental antics on "Untitled" defy categorization, other than to loosely dump the band's sound into the metal bin. This is diverse and eclectic but with a smooth flow from aural idea to aural idea, jamming out with tons of energy to spare. Drums are unstoppable and the guitar riffage is muscular and pummeling. Hematovore does a fine job of offering delights for both the fan of jam music and the metalhead that wants to give himself whiplash.
-www.corazine.com
The first time I ever read the classic book called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" I thought "WOW!" here you have a book that talks about how people can be really fucking evil, about how kids are overly cruel to each other and about how the monsters (Oompa-Loompas) are the ones trying to make the world a happy place. Anyway, Roald Dahl's work has always a weird antithesis about happiness and malice; this is exactly why I loved his book. Why Am I bringing this up? Well, I finally felt the same thing again, but now with a great CD bizarrely called "Untitled". Hematovore is the responsible for bringing the malicious sarcasm in happiness; their music can be really intense and utterly violent at times, but the vibe never stops being quite "happy". The whole album is a grotesque example of what 5 inspired musicians can create with their minds and instruments; "Untitled" is one of the hardest rushes in the metal scene nowadays. Here you'll find layered structures, complex arrangements, shocking guitar-work (3 guitars performing marvelously), all kinds of feelings and one of the best concepts I've ever come across in my days as a reviewer. The artwork is not "just a bonus", the layout is actually the best way to complete the whole perception of disdain and irony (you'll find duckies and roadkills for crying out loud). Now, as good as the concept is, the music explodes our brains even more than anything; the composition is almost flawless, each track has its own vibe and its own way to be great, thus compels the listener to stay until the very end of this record(talking about great songwriting). Yes, it's very similar to some of the post-metal bands around; but Hematovore brings a better perspective towards their clichéd musical features such as dark atmospheres, droned riffs and sludgy sound. This band brings fresher characteristics to the table, it's not the most original work ever of course, and the brightness of the songs may perhaps be kind of frustrating for SOME, but if they keep releasing things like "Untitled" they'll become one of the greatest bands in the Post-Metal scene. I highly recommend this album to everyone into Rock, Metal, Pop, Grunge, Alt, you mention it; the versatility of Hematovore makes it really easy on the ear and it will truthfully fit in any collection. So by now I'm not even sure if these guys are Oompa-Loompas trying to make the world a better, happier place, or if they are the little kids in the "boat-ride" hallucinating with the worst nightmares ever known to man…be as it may, their music is truly insane. Best Tracks: "Kamacuras and Spiega", "Witherspoon, pt. 2", "Arachnophilia"
-www.metalstorm.ee (Francisco Eguiza)
You wouldn't really expect an instrumental band to have any formal connection with Trust Company - you know that nu-metal band that had that addicting song, "Downfall." Low and behold, James Fukai slings the axe in Hematovore, a band with more than a ten year history, and more importantly, three guitar players. Bands with three guitar players always get me excited, and Hematovore is no different. Amidst the cacophony of chugging guitars, symphony of guitar effects, and wandering leads, there is a drummer in there, beating away to his heart's content. You can tell he's playing loud, because when the guitars simultaneously decide to rest, he's in the forefront ripping a few holes into his kit. Untitled lacks the emotional response present in much of the instrumentals finer acts, but instead functions on a robotic level-precision, metal, repetitious, unrelenting—all words that come to mind when describing Hematovore. The metallic undertones shine through the length of Untitled, and dissonant adventures pleasantly complement the flavor of the band. Compositionally, the band is very spacey and jam-oriented. Songs are not really directed in the sense of concept and vision, but rather they tend to unravel due to the band's own energy and passion. I guess that tends to put a human component into the music itself, but after awhile it all becomes a blur around the deafening buzz of the triple guitar attack. That's three times the amount of audible force needed to qualify for a rock band, and at least one more than is generally standard in the instrumental world. Three times the amount of sharp licks, thrashing chords, and jangling disjunctions. Ideas are rapidly brought up and shot down throughout the course of the album. Very few thoughts can mingle with the quickly revolving guitar attack, but in the end, all that truly matters is the warped state of the musical space. Hematovore's 2005 release comes courtesy of Acerbic Noise an upstart label that is showing a promising taste of things to come. Despite having a member in the band who’s fame precedes the band itself, Hematovore has yet to break out into the spotlight. It's rare to see an instrumental band stride forward with such grandiose ideas, but Hematovore does so with little or no reservations. I suppose a decade of jamming will eliminate any and all fears that may face a band and allow it to just make music for the sake of the art.
-www.decoymusic.com (Jordan Volz)
This is the first release for the hugely diverse and unique label Acerbic Noise Development that features a varied and experimental roster and one that really brings to mind what Crucial Blast has been doing for the underground in terms of putting out quality releases that are not easily classifiable. Hematovore are an instrumental unit from Alabama featuring three guitars and a huge variety in song-writing and structure bouncing around between moody ebb and flow, angular math rock, mellow moments that allow for some breathing and some all-out metal. This record is a hugely demanding listen with so many layers to peel away before it starts really sinking in and that is one of the reasons why I am digging the hell out of this album. They remind me a great deal of many of the other instrumental acts I dig including Suzukiton, Don Caballero, Canvas Solaris, Trephine, Keelhaul (not totally instrumental of course), etc. The opening attack of "Witherspoon, pt. 2" and "Blasting through the Back Nine" deliver pummeling riffs with intense rhythms that are all over the place as the band showcases their unique take on math oriented, rocked out metal. They throw in some calmer moments, blast beats, total rock and roll and even straight-out metal during the meat of these two tracks and I'm completely laid to waste by their total chops and the technicality of these compositions. Despite all of the wizardry they show-off this isn't just an overindulgent mess as the songs have plenty of hooks and nuances making them worth many listens, although you might have to jam some of these tracks many, many times in order to totally get your money's worth out of them. "Arachnophilia" is where they really turn up the "wow" factor though as this 8+ minute epic literally throws the kitchen sink at you with a huge dose of progressive and Swedish tinged metal colliding head-first with unpredictable math rock! I mean, I really haven't heard an instrumental unit pull off a song like this EVER. There are twin guitar harmonies, huge prog leanings and just an all out metal feel to this track as the song has a hugely organic feel to it but they still switch things up on a dime adding in some softer moments and heavy, crushing breakdowns (please don't think I mean generic hardcore stuff, but more metal influenced stuff). The other epic length track on this disc ("Kamacuras and Spiega") rages all over the place even injecting some punk inflicted tempos into the mix from time to time as obscure, math metal bludgeons the listener with rapid time changes and some monstrous, lurching riffs that should please all of the doom fans out there. The song also ends on a really spaced out note with some interesting progressive guitar sounds that soon get backed up by another crushing riff. This is a killer record through and through and one that all of you instrumental freaks out there should go nuts over. This is some seriously forward-thinking stuff with great technicality and song-writing and so many epic moments that you'll have to play this disc on end a million times to catch them all. The album also comes with an excellent layout by THE Aaron Turner so get educated and check out Hematovore for some excellent instrumental destruction.
-www.daredevil.de (Jason S.)
I signed up to review this album because I found the band name amusing. I assumed they’d be a mediocre death metal band, although the cover art should have clued me in to the fact that something more interesting was going on. In actual fact, Hematovore play a mix of sludge, metalcore, and progressive death metal akin to a faster and rawer version of Pelican. The comparison also holds up in the fact that Hematovore happen to be an instrumental band. A lot of people find instrumental music difficult to get into, and I’ll admit that without vocals, music tends to seem denser and less memorable. However, the lack of vocals can also make a band’s music seem more flowing and epic, provided that their material holds up. Many metal fans will inform you that a frontman is, in fact, the least important member of a band, and although I agree to some extent, I feel that lyrics and vocals anchor a band and make the material easier to process. In essence, to my ears, a group who operate without a singer are intentionally handicapping themselves, and I generally suspect that such a group have been driven to “instru-metal” due to their inability to find an adequate frontman, not a firm artistic choice to eschew a singer. All of this notwithstanding, Hematovore’s impressive album makes me forget my general prejudice against the approach they have chosen to take. Why? Because it’s pretty damn good. While an amalgam of genres generally sounds awkward, the fact that there are no vocals on top of this material makes the fusion seem far more natural than it might have under other circumstances. Hematovore make three minute tracks seem like they are eight minutes, and that’s no complaint; the lack of vocals makes the nuances of the music more obvious, and the subtle progression that occurs over the course of each song is far more apparent due to the fact that one must focus on the instrumental parts; there are no vocals to guide the listener. That fact forces the band to be all the more inventive to make up for what they lack, and the results are impressive and extremely listenable. The band’s level of technicality is rather high; all of the instrumentalists are able to play both fast and tastefully. This isn’t an flat out shred-fest like some instrumental albums, but there are many sections which are very demanding from a technical standpoint. Another thing that should be noted is the fact that there are three guitarists, each of whom adds a lot to the overall sound. Putting together three complimentary parts for the principle instrument takes skill, and Hematovore deserve respect for having done this. On the whole, this is a really cool, fairly unique album that hasn’t been getting a whole lot of attention from the underground, at least not to the best of my knowledge. If you can get past the lack of vocals, there’s something on this disc for any metal fan. Don’t be put off by their name – check these guys out.
-www.metalreview.com (Ian Duncan-Brown)
The phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" can be thrown out the window with the release of Hematovore's Untitled album. With what appears to be things thrown together gracing the cover of the album, one would expect the same from the music. The results are better than expected, thankfully. Hematovore is a metal band in the vein of Pelican in that all of the songs on the album have no vocals. What separates this Auburn, Alabama group from the post-doom outfit is that much of Hematovore's music combines elements of stoner rock, doom, progressive, and even some metalcore. On paper, this would be a recipe for disaster. However, the band combines the elements so well that none of the music styles incorporated get in the way of one another. In fact, Untitled has something for everyone. For instance, the opening track "Witherspoon Pt. 2" relies on the groove elements of stoner rock with some sludge coming in towards the end of the track. "One Unit, Whole Blood" is essentially metalcore without the vocals, which actually makes this track pleasing on the ears because more attention can be paid to the technical aspects of the music. On the two longest tracks "Arachnophilia" and "Kamacuras and Spiega," there is a sense of time that gets lost when listening to the tracks because the tracks wrap the listener's ears into the aural assault that comes from the pulsating bass, groove-oriented guitars and drums that keep it all together. One of the major strengths of this album is that all the songs seem to flow into one another without any awkward transitions. If I was to find something wrong with the album, it would be the unusual names for the wordless songs that don't make sense of what the music is about. Hematovore comes out with all barrels firing on their debut on Acerbic Noise Development. Combining different styles and doing so without what appears to be much effort, the band makes a solid splash onto the instrumental metal scene with a vengeance. Given that the band has been around since 1990, one would have expected an album much sooner. Here's hoping that we don't have to wait another decade or so for another album from the Alabama band.
-www.metalcoven.com (Peter Santellan)
The recent influx of instrumental albums has been overwhelming because of its quality. Even the ones that are below par for the course are still pretty good, and there seems to be new bands forming every other day that want to jump on this bandwagon, which has yet to compromise its integrity or lose it all together. But unlike an undisclosed number of their peers, 14-year veterans Hematovore are a dirty outfit that have produced a grimy album with hints of sludge and doom. The quintet can be likened to Pelican occasionally, though Untitled proves capable of steering itself in rarely-visited waters. And despite the penetrating heaviness that Hematovore offer repeatedly, this full-length doesn’t eschew optimistic, happy passages in favor of bleak, oozing dankness. Still, this is a gritty affair. The straight-ahead, rock approach of “Witherspoon, Pt. 2” will entice some, as will the Capricorns-esque, buzzing distortion. While the transitions aren’t the smoothest, it’s immediately noticeable that the songs are driven, and most unfold in an enthusiastic manner. The beginning of “Blasting Through the Back Nine” – prepare for pertinent, comical soundclips – displays a group that can’t be considered sloppy, yet play their instruments with a looseness that may irk a worshipper of airtight musicianship. Hematovore serve up a hearty helping of sludgy doom enhanced with riveting guitar leads in “Arachnophilia.” “Blue Darner” comes across as a modern sort of whirlwind in which the disarray doesn’t necessarily make everything incomprehensible. Be ready for layer upon layer provided by various instruments before the 10-minute, post-hardcore tune “Kamacuras and Spiega” is let out of the bag. The middle features a portion of doom that rivals the shattering and shaking caused by an earthquake. Follower “One Unit, Whole Blood” experiments with doom yet again, and trudges while doing so, prior to the ostensible “smoke has cleared” piece known as “Earwigs (Ewww!),” which eventually incorporates a boatload of heavy, amplified distortion. Hematovore roll to a stop soon afterwards, having presented 43 minutes of material. Untitled is a solid album that will be a nice grab for those of you who gobble down instrumental music like a competitive eater, er, listener. This five-piece can’t yet compete with the stalwarts, but they certainly aren’t doing a poor job of backing up the first string. For $10, it’s a good deal if you’ve already exhausted other releases of a higher quality, simply cannot wait for the upcoming discs by Windmills by the Ocean, Mouth of the Architect, Red Sparowes, and Isis, or are an instrumental hound with an insatiable hankering for the stuff.
-www.ultimatemetal.com (Jason Jordan)
Watch out The Fucking Champs. Watch out Don Caballero. Watch out heavy instrumental bands of the world -- Hematovore is out for blood. This quintet of Alabama shredders has been around longer than you (14 years) and their bloodlust grows stronger every day. What we have here is an album of thick, coagulated riffing coupled with a pulsing, palpitating rhythm section that finds the jugular every time. We're talking hooks here. Sure, there's some angularity to keep the advanced listener in check, but there's not a track on this album that couldn't hold the average hesher's attention. Of course, there's no reason for that to be the case when you have -- count 'em -- one, two, three guitarists. Yup. Three. And every one of them a virtuoso in his own right. I told you it was thick.
Whether it's the sickening precision of Jamie Uertz and Rob Stewart that gets you, or the fine-woven finishing textures of former Trust Company guitarist, James Fukai, there's enough here to put their bigger city peers to shame. And that's not to mention Brian Cross's brand of kung fu drumming. Or Steve Schultz's undercurrent of menacing bass.
What's more, none of this is tongue-in-cheek. You might hear strains of death, power metal, prog rock, black metal, classical, emo or Saturday morning cartoons in the tracks herein. But rest assured, it's all real. These guys are, after all, coming from a small college town where there's nothing to do but get crazy in the practice space. They wouldn't write it if they didn't dig it. What can I say? This could be recommended to fans of Carcass, Mogwai and Zappa alike. This is one of the best undiscovered metal band of today. Type A. Positive.
-www.deadtide.com
Hmmm...Acerbic Noise again. These guys surprised the hell out of me with Gezoleen. I wonder what delightful noise is going to emanate from the HKB with this go around? One...Two...Three! Three wonderful guitarists ahhahaha! Yes ladies and ghouls, that's right, three guitarists front this instrumental band. Instrumental?!?! WTF?!?! Yes, I said instrumental. Now usualy this is followed up with some witty quip such as "dude, that's fucking boring." But such is not the case in this instance! These guys manage to make purely instrumental music that does not leave you in a comatose state afterwards! The play good old fashioned, straight up metal with a Satriani/Vai flair to it. Of course they don't have near the chops of Joe or Steve, but then again, we don't wan't to hear copycats now do we!? The three guitarists blend together seamlessly without creating a megaclusterfuck of noise and one-upping each other's wankery, which is what one would expect from having three egos on the stage at once. Yet they do seem to inspire one another to aspire to greater heights with their wizardry that brings some of the music close to entering the prog realm. And interestingly enough, it still doesn't get boring! Now in case you're concerned that this is going to be all virtuoso fluff, hold on to your 460cc drivers cause they do throw in some straight forward, get your head bobbing metal! Speaking of 460cc drivers, seeing as how I am 120% completely and hopelessly addicted to golf, these guys won me over immediately with the second tune called "Blasting Through The Back Nine". Which is, even without lyrics, about playing the back nine just as the name implies! Complete with the sweet sounds of a driver teeing off at the beginning and the ball rolling in the cup at the end. Happy Happy Joy Joy!! And joy of joys, you can hear the bass! Which turns out to be delightful cause this guy is all over the place laying down some fat rhythms and bass lines that help to keep him from being swallowed in the three guitar black hole. The one complaint I have to bring to light, and this really grates on my nerves too, is that the drums seem to have been mixed by the same guy who fucked up Lars sound on St. Anger. Hasn't anyone learned yet that those drums sound like total shit!?!? Whatever. After reading their bio, I can see why they have elected to go the pure instrumental route. And I quote "Early on, the band had a lumpy mass resembling a singer. They're instrumental now, so it's obvious that whoever that was (no one can remember) really ruined the vocalist angle for them.". Bwahahahaha!! So once again Acerbic has completely blindsided me with a release I did not even see coming. Kudos!! This album orbits many light years away from Gezoleen, yet somehow it seems appropriate that they are on the same label. Keep the surprises coming! I enjoy being caught off-gaurd! Two severed thumbs up!
-Rock My Monkey (deathboy)
Excellent instrumental metallic indie rock from freakin' Auburn, Alabama that's heavy on monster major key hooks and mathy, genre hopping riffmash. Somewhere between the horizontal march and melodic highs of PELICAN, and the galloping, anthemic Indie Maiden heroics of THE CHAMPS, sits HEMATOVORE. One of the reasons why this self titled debut kicks so much ass is the excellent pacing of the album...the band strikes a perfect balance between crushing and catchy, juxtaposing angular metal freakouts,driving thrashy momentum,huge double-and-triple axe harmonies, and extremely slow and heavy metalcore parts with the softer indie rock/post-rock melodies, mellow acoustic breaks, and ridiculously catchy and exhilarating pop hooks and arena rock rapture...dig that crazy Journey/Boston-esque, fully 80's hard rock hook on "Arachnophilia" that's been lodged in our heads all week, right before it morphs into a floor-caving,right-angle chuggernaut. It seems like we've been fawning over alot of instrumental heavy stuff lately for whatever reason, but this is just so good. If you at all into quality singer-free power crunch like Pelican, The Champs, Suzukiton, and Trephine, then this comes with our highest recommendation. Also features crayola-apocalyptic, Aaron Turner (ISIS) designed packaging.
-Crucial Blast
When you've been receiving hundreds of promo packages for years and years, reading bank biographies becomes truly mundane. Some bands/ labels send no information whatsoever, others send five pages of nonsense and a bunch of stickers. Thus, when I read Acerbic Noise Development's bio for Alabama freaks Hematovore I was moved to tears by the utterly hilarious biography. At Transcending the Mundane, we became familiar with Hematovore when they sent us 1999's Requiem for review and they also supported our c.d. compilations by paying for a track to appear with one of our issues. I was such a big fan of Requiem I forced myself to beg the band for copies of their previous work; 1995's Ways of the Eight Footed and 1998's Out for Blood, as well. Bassist Steve Schultz and guitarist Jamie Uertz started Hematovore in 1992 and were later joined by drummer Brian Cross and guitarist Randal Sewell. Jamie went away for a few months so Rob Stewart was recruited to replace him. Jamie returned and they decided to soldier on with three guitarists. Apparently they were unsatisfied with their only singer and Hematovore chose early on to be an instrumental group. Their sound is indescribable. Don't expect flamboyant guitar solos or senseless brooding, this band jams, but does so in a quirky, original manner. It's almost a shame they have no vocals, as I get the lyrics would be humorous. Got to love a band who prints at the top of their biography, "Bios are a dumbass waste of otherwise productive time..." that's right, productive time listening to Hematovore. 8 of 10.
-Transcending The Mundane
What pops in your head when you think of Auburn, Alabama? College football? Tractor pulls? Beered-up rednecks with their hairy guts spilling out of their overalls? Trailer parks? Inbreeding? All of the above? The phrase "good metal music" probably didn't pop in your head, but maybe a Deliverance-style banjo solo did. Hematovore is ready to change all that though and make you forget about everything else that sucks - they are easily the best thing to come out of Alabama since I-85, and definitely sound a lot better than the grunting, groaning and pig-calling you're likely to hear everywhere else in the state. Hematovore play a heavy, sludgy style of wordless instru-metal that, upon initially hearing it, sounds just like a Pelican clone. Indeed both bands are similar in that their two most recent albums feature no words and riffs so thick and fuzzy you can just feel the bong water dripping off of them, but where Hematovore differs is they venture all over the musical spectrum instead of staying in the slow, doomy Pelican atmosphere. Untitled features bits and pieces of furious thrash, prog-metal technical wizardry, long, drawn out spacey riffs, and a lot of other aural surprises. If you like Pelican but wish they were a little faster and heavier, say hello to Hematovore, your new favorite band.
Let's go through some of what you'll hear on this album, as there truly is something for almost everyone on here. You like breakneck riffing and drumming that matches the pace? Check. Heavy hardcore-style groove-laden breakdowns? Check. Rock solid riffs that will have your head nodding like a narcoleptic with a bungie cord attached to their neck? Check. Trippy acoustic sonic dreamscapes? Check. Lyrics? Well... 4 out of 5 ain't bad. The best part is, literally every song features most if not all of these styles all within the same song, shifting effortlessly between genres and showcasing a level of songwriting rarely seen or heard from heavy metal bands. Another thing that is very refreshing about Hematovore is that the band refuses to take itself seriously. In the current metal scene full of trendy woe-is-me emo-puss metalcore where most songs are about how hard high school is or something or other, Hematovore is content to just let their music fly all over the place with no questions asked. Take the song (and clear album highlight) "Blastin' Through The Back Nine" for example, which may just be metal's first ever song to incorporate golf sound effects. The band plows through thick heavy riffs and speedy doule-bass thrash work for about a minute, then everything comes to a complete stop, a second of silence, then a golf ball is heard being smacked off a tee, then back to the music. Some cool spaced-out riffing follows, then a repeat of the earlier thrash a few minutes later, only this time it's a golf ball dropping into a cup when everything stops. It's originality like this, which is on display all through the album, which makes this a not only memorable but fun listen. In fact, I almost passed on listening to this album because I read the goofy song titles on the back and thought it was some crappy indie-rock album, little did I know that it's all part of the Hematovore don't worry, be happy vibe. A few of the tracks here and there fall prey to overwinded experimentation (namely the two 8-minute plus songs, which both could have benefitted from having a few minutes trimmed off of each), but overall this is an excellent album that definitely deserves your attention if you're looking to stay ahead of the metal curve. This is the perfect album to spring on your non-metalhead friends since there's no cookie monster vocals to scare them away, just good, solid driving heaviness and quite a few monster riffs. Indeed, it's the rare kind of album which would sound at home not only in the Wrekage library but also WREK's daytime rock library as well. Here's hoping Hematovore helps lead the charge against the current metal mediocrity of the masses and puts Auburn, Alabama on the map for some other reason than being the armpit of the country.
-WREK Atlanta
Shredding instrumental math-metal played in happy, major keys on downtuned guitars with dual (or even triple) harmonies?? Sounds good? Check. Sound familiar? Double check. If you're a fan of San Francisco's The Fucking Champs it should. But this ain't the Champs. A glance at the colorful, Aaron Turner (Isis/Hydra Head) designed packaging reveals that this is a band called Hematovore, and they're from Alabama. We guess it had to happen. The Champs had some downtime, people got antsy, and then along comes a band that sounds so much like 'em it's absolutely uncanny. Unoriginal maybe, but what the heck. If you've been eagerly waiting for a Champs VI, well, you need to get this now!! It's just what the (rock) doctor ordered. What's weird is that according to their online bio, they've been around for, like, 13 years (just like The Champs). And no mention is made of them as an influence. So perhaps it's a case of parallel evolution, inspired by the same cool things -- Carcass, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Maiden, technical death metal... But we doubt it. They've GOT to be really into The Champs. Though, there's a few differences. Hematovore rocks with THREE guitars and a bassist, whereas The Champs make do with two guitars (sometimes three, when the drummer isn't drumming) and no bass. And the blend of extremes, death metal on one end, indie/post-rock on the other, seems more pronounced with Hematovore. They get more hardcore METAL than the Champs do at times, but at others also more mellow and pretty. There's almost no point in describing this further, 'cause if you're NOT already into The Champs you either wouldn't like this, or need to get some Champs cds first. But if you're a Champs fan (and why wouldn't you be??) then this is basically the new Champs album you've been wanting, just under a different name. More ear candy for Champs fans basically. So we can't help but recommend it!!
-Aquarius Records
The instrumental boys of Alabama
Bands in sleepy college towns usually conform to a model: get five or six guys together, learn a Bob Marley cover or two and a few '60s classic rock tunes, top it all off with a 45-minute reggae version of Don McLean's "American Pie," and wait for the chicks to start tunneling through your dorm's foundation. Given the rule breaking essence of Hematovore, it's a wonder they haven't been lynched. Untitled, the mathematically-inclined band's first release as well as it's label's, finds the Auburn, Alabama-based instrumental quintet exploring the cracks between Isis, King Crimson, and The Fucking Champs in such a resolutely ebullient way, they'd probably get laid all the time if they weren't so obviously practicing. "Witherspoon Pt. 2" opens with a rolling pastoral interlude that hints at what Marshall Crenshaw might have been like had Ma Nature elected to make him a three-guitar precision metal band, morphs from crunchy poly-rhythms into a stuttering waltz, sashays back into Crenshaw country, and closes the thick canopy of stars on a river of honeyed sour mash. “Earwigs (EWWW)” finds the frothy scamps reversing the strategic polarity, starting with a slow quickie in the president of Auburn University’s back seat and traversing a convoluted route that finds them burning guitar strings like bibles, finally thrashing their way to 11th base in a synchronized-melody line blaze of glory that makes Wishbone Ash seem like Wesley Willis. If Untitled had been playing when you were conceived, you’d probably be quintuplets. 7 of 10
-Decibel Magazine
T he first track sounds like an instrumental Megadeth track from way back when Mustaine still had tons of magic up his nostrils. It’s got that old school melodic quasi trash metal quality to it that’s just a bit nostalgic and a bit too musical. The riff has some happy happy joy joy elements to them, especially how it grows during the first and mid passages before finding redemption in an uneventful come down. One minute into second track “Blasting Through the Back Nine”, things seem to be getting too standard, too typical and downright generic, but a welcomed breakdown instill some beginner’s jazz guitars that are sure to thrill the easily surprised metalheads. The dexterous solo that follows is more like it, but why can’t we stay on it for the remainder of the record? And the hyperblast infested tech death metal passages that closes this cut is almost exhilarating. Damn, I wish time had stood still but instead it passes and never bothers to rear its ugly head. Mostly Untitled sounds like what amounts to an average melodic trash metal band from the late 80’s sans the vocalist. Wisely, there is plenty going on so that the lack of vocalist does not serve as a deterrent. Unfortunately, is all kind of boring anyway so the lack of vocalist does sound like a deterrent. I can imagine tons of old school metalheads and mullet-headed middle-aged men shaking their fists, headbanging and hailing Hematovore as the missing link between Mustaine’s mirror and his encounter with God. Or as Overkill minus the annoying nasal piercing pitch of Bobby Blitz, Testament on their way to softening up their wounds with The Ritual or even Death Angel without the hooks. Once in a while Hematovore hints at progressive rock, with intricate guitar patterns and swift changes (really mild jazz, for instance) that are supposed to amount to a more thoughtful and intelligent brand of metal but doesn’t. Hematovore counts Trust Company guitarist James Fukai amongst its members, I’ve never heard that band and judging by how boring some of this I don’t think I ever will. I am fucking bored.
-www.deafsparrow.com