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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

With Burning Contempt - Red Visions EP - Album Review

Year: 2013

There are many bands around that have had their trysts with different styles of metal. Some tend to do it over the span of their entire career, while some do it within a single album. What do you call a band that blends Thrash, Death, Black and even a tinge of Doom, all in the duration of one song? Over ambitious or talented genius?


With Burning Contempt is an American Extreme Metal band from Virginia, USA. Earlier this year, this band had released their debut EP titled Red Visions, for free via Bandcamp. 

Approaching this album, this first thing that is noticeable is the raw old school atmosphere lingering over the music. The album starts of with a Black Metal riff in  'Red Visions'. As the track proceeds, it becomes clear that this is not your average everyday generic metal band.

The number of influences that they showcase is tremendous. The black metal of Celtic Frost, the punk of Motorhead, the heavy doom of Asphyx, the death metal of Entombed are all mashed up into this raw and  perfect sounding blend. There is even a slight tinge of Rock N' Roll in their music.

They waltz in and out of different styles and they do it in a natural way. The transition between the various styles and the tempo shifts, never sound forced even a little bit. When they play it slow, they exhibit some heavy doom. When they crank up the speed, they thrash with vigor. And in between, they play a lot of black and death metal. 

The tempo shifts make this a very interesting listen. At times, the shifts are unexpected and yet, they flow very smoothly. 'We Are Nothing', has just three lines for lyrics, and yet stands out as one of the best songs of the EP. This goes to show how musically talented these guys are. 

As for the complaints, I just have a couple. The bass could have been audible. The production sounds way too muddy at parts. These two problems aside, this is a flawless debut EP. I would highly recommend that this EP be listened to, because, the talent that these guys showcase deserves a lot of recognition. 

Their EP is available for free download at their bandcamp page.

Rating: 83%

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