Blessed Be This Nightmare

If you put the word "English" and "deathcore" together, the first band that will come to mind is obviously the painfully annoying Bring Me the Horizon, and the sad part is a majority of bands that emerged after BMTH focused more on high-pitched screams and fringe flicking that have sadly dominated the online market for core bands and thus are considered clones in the genre. However, hidden away in the dark depths of the UK is another band who not only went against their more popular fellow English bands, but in a way reinvented English deathcore, proving that you don't have to have side-flicked fringes or full body tattoos to make powerful and brutal music.

Eternal Lord is by far one of the most impressive deathcore bands I have ever come across and their full-length release, Blessed Be This Nightmare, is one very impressive recording and one I will always enjoy no matter what. Granted there has been line-up changes since the original split album with Azriel and their original ep that contained former vocalist Sam Rickett and some minor sound changes, but Blessed Be This Nightmare is one solid album and, in my own opinion, blows the previous recordings out of the water.

Ed Butcher has come a long way since his time with IKTPQ with his vocals reaching a new level of grimness that is expressed perfectly with this recording, especially with its eponymous track to the point where no other vocalist could possibly give the same effect. Shaun Zerebecki and Chris Gregory, both original founders who were present for the early releases, are not afraid to once again express their skill of sheer power in their forms of guitar playing. The tracks Hot to Trot, Get to Fuck, and Blessed Be This Nightmare are perfect examples of Chris and Shaun's taste in playing complex doubled in with the casual palm muted chug which, despite being the typical trademarks of deathcore, aren't that generic compared to their peers, which is a major change . Stu Mckay is by far one of the best and solid drummers I have ever heard and seen (from videos online, he is very, very talented) who blast beats his way through nearly every song, each being more original and technical than the last while reverting to the trade mark 4:4 drumming that is used for breakdowns, but adding in his own touch of originality.

Eternal Lord's sound is definitely unique and whose members strive to sound different to the Job For a Cowboy/Myspace copycats and Bring Me the Horizon clones that plague the current market today. In ways, Eternal Lord can be considered a melodic band that breaks away from the typical deathcore sound that many bands don't bother to recreate, but instead battle to see who has the most brutal breakdowns or the longest fringe. Recommended songs would be I the Deceiver for the band's melodic touch, Blessed Be this Nightmare for their extreme brutal style of playing, and Amity for a touch of soothing acoustic playing which surprisingly fits the album really well.

Eternal Lord may have broken up with members going onto different projects, but they, along with this album, will always be remembered as one of the few bands that succeeded in being different, but were sadly underappreciated. Their name and style will eventually be lost, but will never be forgotten, especially to those who took the time to stop and listen to these underdogs of English deathcore and metal music as a whole.

It’s not every day you see a death metal band emerge from a place like Swindon, England, especially not one with a name like ‘Eternal Lord’, however the band are certainly worth taking notice of. They’re starting to gain some more popularity among people who’s lives don’t revolve around MySpace, and there’s good reason for that. A label like ‘deathcore’ is one that plenty of people will avoid like the plague, with frankly pathetic outfits such as Bring Me The Horizon chug-squee’ing their way to success. Eternal Lord, however, is something quite different.

They’ve got real style and power. They clearly enjoy doing what they do and they pull it off with finesse and creativity that is missing from this genre. The vocals of Ed Butcher, for starters, are actually quite good and that alone is one thing that makes this band stand out from countless bands that you’ll see labelled in a similar way. However, dismissing Eternal Lord simply as ‘just another deathcore band’ is a big mistake, as they incorporate so much more into their sound that just death metal brutality and metalcore grooves. There’s a lot of melody as well, subtle little clean guitar parts and even a fully acoustic song to be found on ‘Blessed Be This Nightmare’. Their riffs are very slick and the guitarists Shaun Zerebecki and Chris Gregory clearly have influences ranging from Gothenburg melodic death bands to progressive metal acts to hardcore greats such as Refused. This interesting variety in sound without seeming to be there for the sake of it means that there’s never a dull moment on ‘Blessed Be This Nightmare’.

‘Blessed Be This Nightmare’ is a quality album. There’s no denying that and I’m very impressed by this band. They’re a good unit and from a technical standpoint each musician does a great job, especially drummer and producer Stuart Mackay. From the almost black-metally feel of ‘O’Brothel Where Are Thou’ to the acoustic number ‘Amity’ to the crushing title track, the solidarity of Eternal Lord is very impressive. If you don’t fancy going out on a limb and buying this album, than at least give a few songs from it a listen on their website because this band really deserve some attention, and hopefully the US release and full length promotion of ‘Blessed Be This Nightmare’ will help garner them that praise they deserve for this work.

Originally written for www.ultimate-guitar.com review team.