God Burns like Flesh

Author's Note: This review was written in August of 2009. It was postponed as I left it on my old desktop computer after I went to college, having only my laptop. This was unintentional, but here is the review in full, for your viewing pleasure. A review warped back to the future, if you will:

Shatter Messiah, America's least known purveyor of sonic blasphemy in the form of thrashy Power Metal, came out with this album a few years ago, to which it was met with mostly disappointment by people who aren't cool. All I really have to say is, fuck that! This album just kicks ass. It is a maelstrom of aural fury and visceral grit, with chunky, angry riffage, a killer, evil groove and the epitome of pissed-off Power Metal vocals. Shatter Messiah is pretty much the new most aggressive Power Metal band out there, due in no small part to the heavy doses of Thrash and groove they've been smoking at the waterhole, but still extremely aggressive and powerful all the same. In fact, without the versatile, melodic vocals of Greg Wagner and the occasional melodic interlude from the wall of heaving sonic steel on the guitars' end, this wouldn't really be Power Metal-ish at all. Oh, and yes, there is a bit of groove from time to time on here, but that isn't a bad thing when a band can master the style and use it to create darker, more angry soundscapes, as Shatter Messiah do.

The band is pissed the fuck off, and they intend to let the listeners know it, with a lot of ire and rage seeping out of every pore on this album. The guitars are massive and crushing, the tempos punishing and the drums as barbaric as can be. This album is short, but with the amount of sheer fury pumped into it, how could it be any longer without losing momentum? Greg Wagner's vocals are a real strong point for the band, as he sounds like the best parts of Hansi Kursch and Russel Allen rolled up and set on fire. They're demonic as hell and they work really well with the sound, making everything sound ten times more diabolical than they would otherwise. I really can't stress enough how good these vocals are, making every line count, commanding, wrathful and passionate. The lyrics are pretty good, being rebellious and full of venemous spite. Definitely fits with the music to a tee, and also one of the things that this album has over the debut, being more aggressive and professional sounding.

Kicking off with the thunderous "Idolater," the band wastes no time in applying a heavy metal boot to your face, and they keep it there for the entire duration of the album. There are a lot of great songs here, from the blaspheming, writhing title track to the cannibalistic "Stripped of Faith," but the album really gets good toward the end, specifically with the song "Dirge of Christ." This track just smokes, with rumbling guitars, hateful distortion and a vocal performance that could literally put the fear of the devil into anyone. It is here that Greg Wagner really reaches his vocal peak, spitting bile and flame through a microphone and disintegrating all who deny his prowess. "Buried in Black" is one of the album's best, too, with its epic build-ups and intensity, with hints of supremely dark and majestic melody buried subtly within. "This is the Day" knocks your ass flat, and then the moving "Tomorrow Immortal," which is probably the manliest ballad ever written, will floor you as the album comes to close, with a haunting chorus and somber chords shaking the foundations of your very soul.

So, really, this is one of the best of 2007, mature, heavy and all around kick ass. It might not be quite as good as the debut Never to Play the Servant, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great album anyway. Shatter Messiah are an ace band that I will really look forward to hearing more from in the future. God Burns Like Flesh is a stirring album full of dark, introspective and fiery anthems from a killer band who aren't resting on their laurels, and frankly, if you like metal as a genre at all, chances are you'll be able to find something to like about it. Get this if you have a shred of metal blood in you at all.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Curran Murphy, go-to second axeman for Nevermore and Annihilator, has assembled a pretty good crack squad for his own band, Shatter Messiah. There’s a lot of talent and experience on display here. Their debut album, ‘Never to Play the Servant’ was pretty well-received, and ‘God Burns Like Flesh’ isn’t bad – it’s just not that great.

The music is ballsy but tuneful, primarily modern thrash with a lot of melody and drama, much like Nevermore or Communic. The playing is tight, the vocals are powerful and the music is of a very professional quality. What’s missing are the layered details and adventurous yet assured ideas that raised releases in a similar vein by Communic and even Scariot to such stellar levels, earlier this year. Songs like the hidden track, ‘Stripped Of Faith’, ‘This Is The Day’ or ‘Buried In Black’ all have good shifts, effective melodies, great solos and crushing yet intelligently composed riffs. But it feels as if each idea could have been polished or twisted a little more. Far too many songs simply occupy the space of being good songs on a middling album without really breaking out of the mould. ‘Idolater’, ‘Dirge Of The Christ’ and ‘Tommorow Immortal’ are all very promising songs, but they do no more than they need to, and don’t stretch out for the unexpected suckerpunch. There are far too many times when there’s a bar of essentially dead space as a progression or a riff completes itself, and I can’t help but think how tighter construction and more ideas could have made that doldrum into a quickie tsunami with a kickass fill or mini-interlude.

What Shatter Messiah have done here isn’t necessarily disastrous – there are great albums, and then there are good albums, and then there are so-so albums that don’t make your jaw drop in awe, but aren’t bad at all, either. That’s the sort of album this is. Maybe I’m just spoiled, but the fact is that the bar has been raised pretty high in this genre. Shatter Messiah have the chops and the aggression down – and they definitely deserve points for that – but they have to push harder to make a bigger impact.

www.kvltsite.com

What the fuck happened here? First off the debut album that this band released was arguably the best album of 2006. I absolutely praised that album from every possible standpoint. The songs were fresh and original, yet still added a nod to the old school thrash metal formula of the bay area. But this album on the other hand...

I don't quite know what happened to Curran Murphy's crafstmanship as a guitar player. His riffs have all been nu-metaled to death, and down tuned to the Zakk Wylde key. What was he thinking. The production is still great, and Greg Wagner's vocals are great as always, but I must admit, these songs simply don't size up to the tracks that were featured on the bands debut masterpiece.

This album doesn't have that added feel aggressive and speed that was prevelant on the bands debut. This album does more plodding than bludgeoning. I can't get over the aweful C# tuning of the guitars either, what the fuck is that all about, oh wait a minute I know...nu-metal trends are still alive. Someone should tell Curran that Thrash Metal is on a resurgence from the downward spiral that it was initially believed to have wondered in the early nineties. Its OK to be metal Curran, you don't have to write music for the trendy wanna-be's anymore to sell records.

I guess I am just dissapointed since I absolutely loved this bands debut offering. I sincerely thought that their follow-up (Which I have been impatiently awaiting) was going to at the very least be a continuation of the greatness that was achieved the first time around.

I suppose that I'll hold out for album # 3 in hopes that this bands formula old school formual finds its way back to fruition. One can only hope...