Let the Violence Begin

Interestingly enough, Jim Durkin and the rest of DOD have recently added a female latino vocalist into their ranks. I have not yet heard the new material, therefore anyone who reads this review must keep in mind that all of the bashing is directed at the previous vocalist who unfortunately was found on this EP.
In and of itself this EP is pretty fuckin' decent. Especially in terms of the guitar riffs and the drumming. Durkin has always had a knack for writting some awesome riffage(see Dark Angel) and the complexity and persistence of his material cannot be denied. Same goes for "Mendez" drumming ability. The guy is a fucking menace on his kit. Ultra fast double bass. Off time, super fast rolls that go from the roto toms right down to the floor tom in a style of smoothness and perfection. The Bass guitar on this EP is not very prominent in the mix and is very hard to pick out at times.
The lyrics on this EP are kinda goofy at times, and sorta sound like the earlier days of Slayer, leaning towards the realm of satanism and other childish shit like that. As for the vocals, this is where the album suffers the most. First off, the dude can't sing...at all. He does mimic some sort of machinery sound, possibly a forklift that is lacking hydraulic fluid. I can't quite put my finger on it. Regardless, its absolutely terrible and at times becomes rather unbearable to the listener. The production, or lack there of for better terms, causes the songs to sound rather "hollow", and in no way does it do the EP any justice.
The sad thing about some of the negative aspects of this EP is that in and of themselves, these songs are pretty fuckin' decent, and had the band used a more accomplished singer and better production, then I'm quite sure that the numbers in my rating could easily be reversed.
Hopefully, the new material will be a step in he right direction, the potential is definately there.