A new contender among the Aussie metal crowd
I must admit, that upon first listen of Die For Me (the debut EP from Perth lads Left Ablaze) I was far from impressed. However, after a few more listens, something very special happened – a plethora of little nuances (be it a clever genre nod or a well thought out progression) began to surface, blowing my first opinion dramatically out of the water.
Left Ablaze have formulated a sound that both encompasses and echoes a wide variety of genre influences, including: grind, melodeath & technical metal, which have been seamlessly sewn together to create a distinct whole. This ‘whole’ is reminiscent of many metal acts that surfaced/saw their prime in the mid to late nineties (e.g. Sepultura, Machine Head, and Napalm Death etc). That’s not to say the band has a ‘borrowed’ sound, merely one that cleverly incorporates (and no doubt pays homage to) the metal sounds of yesteryear.
The band certainly possess a degree of compositional skill – tracks such as the grinding Your Head (Upon My Shelf) and pulverising Can You Hear Me are for the most part remarkably smooth in their progression, which really adds a nice sense of flow to the album. A parallel can certainly be drawn between this compositional skill and the band’s musicianship in general. Everyone can be clearly heard giving it their ferocious all, be it the razor edged rhythm attack of axe men Vic and Royce, the pulverising persistency of drummer Karl and bass man Chadd or the gravel studded growl of front man Jesse.
While positives do abound on Die For Me, there is a slight drawback. I can’t help but think the band could bring a tiny bit more sonic variety (within the boundaries of their sound) to the table. Occasionally tracks can come off sounding slightly similar (e.g. certain moments within Die and Your Head (Upon My Shelf). While more of the same can often be a good thing (especially if you really enjoy what the band dishes out) I don’t think the band is quite at the level to be able to fully capitalise on that ability just yet.
However, as this is only Left Ablaze’s first release, I dare say that this will be something that will iron itself out as the band continues to (hopefully) progress their sound. While Die For Me got off to a rocky start, it has certainly grown on me – so much so that I am very eager to see what these guys will bring to the table with their next release. While the EP is still a little rough around the edges, and could use a few tweaks here and there, it is certainly a worthy debut. Particularly in its ability to help showcase the fact that the Australian metal scene still has plenty of life left in it yet. At the end of the day, if you like your metal loud, uncompromising and suitably brutal, Left Ablaze should be right up your alley.
(Prime Cuts Music/MGM Distribution)
