City of Steel

Here comes another kind of combination. In a unique way, this band managed to compose the classic headbanging thrash metal riffing while jumping into the realm of melodic death metal. Riff handing over another riff, this album's musical pieces deliver a massive rush into the mind of the listener, like solid steel hitting the nerves of your neck to the unstoppable banging engine. Let's not talk about the album art that much; once you take a look at it, you will have that feeling of a great classical thrash metal album.

Musically, the guitars influenced by old school thrash and modern melodic death is indeed something you can't leave unnoticed, joining riff after riff of solid headbanging materials and enjoyable lines. Drums are executed brutally and technically good, and the bass is fine, too. Finally, the vocals remind you of "Sodom" and "Destruction" combined with some high-pitched vocal style. This album is worth a listen, but I don't expect this to be a good selling album. Indeed, this is 32 minutes of your life that you will never regret, but no remarkable riffs or solo are to found here. As a band that has yet to understand the real deal, this album is killer, but compared to the international acts, they still have a hard way ahead.

I personally recommended this album to any thrasher worldwide. It's a great experience you will find through 32 minutes, and I wish this band the great success they deserve.

Untimely Demise stands on a swinging pillar that primarily leans on the edge of thrash metal but dips into melodic death metal territory ala At The Gates or other seminal bands of the Gothenburg equation on a sequential basis. The group's overall approach is debatably insignificant and maybe a slither redundant at first, but "City of Steel" showcases the higher road of this identity that many try and ultimately fail. Untimely Demise is not the kind of band that will floor you with grade-A instrumentation or stellar guitar work which redefines thrash metal, but "City of Steel" still provides a decent bludgeoning of riveting thrash welcoming many outer sounds and niches into the house of these Canadian butchers.

So, what Untimely Demise attempts throughout "City of Steel," the faction's debut, is quite basic compared to others divulging in the thrash/melodic death metal algorithm. The record pretty much follows the philosophy to a tee, using old-school thrash in the circle of Slayer or Kreator to assist the psychotic guitar work and harsh vocals, while frequently turning the musical dials into melodic regions one could associate with late Carcass or Dark Tranquillity if Dark Tranquillity had testosterone. And as I said, originality isn't Untimely Demise's foundation of power, but the group at least has the ability to craft fun, catchy riffs and verses that stick out, and quite a portion of their melodic work really leaves a lasting impact, especially the scathing, furious guitar work throughout "Unmaker, which is my favorite part of the album, hands down.

Not everything they touch turns to gold, however; the transitions occasionally seem predictable and expected, but Untimely Demise at least has the diversified factor working in their favor to make each and every song smooth and memorable with consistent, aggressive fire shooting from every orifice. Also, one of Untimely Demise's leading assets that will unquestionably impress curious listeners is the band's lead guitar work and their excessive soloing habit which comes to light at every bend and turn; it's really amazing how their solos fit into the album's landscape of ravenous melody so well, truly some great work on the part of Untimely Demise.

There aren't many things to say about "City of Steel" other than its simplistic nature dominates the album. The opening number sums up Untimely Demise and the remaining cuts follow suit without hesitation or variation, but it works to the band's benefit during the record's running time, at least to a comfortable degree. "City of Steel" may not become a classic or noteworthy release causing friction in the metal underground, but Untimely Demise still provides a bestial experience that appropriately explores the realms of both thrash and melodic death metal without derailing the band's true intention, which is to sink sharp incisors into your neck and drain every last drop of blood from the futile victim of this violent squad.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

Canada's Untimely Demise attempt to cram quite a lot into their debut City of Steel, and I feel like it often becomes cluttered with the excess, but for a band performing thrash metal in the modern era, I do feel like they have enough weaponry in their arsenal to succeed where so many others are failing. First and foremost, they use a classic speed/thrash foundation with snarling, blackish Mille Petrozza style vocals, and then they heap on a lot of solos, thick melodic rhythms that often seem more in line with At the Gates, Carcass circa Heartwork, or other, aggressive melodeath bands, all wrapped in chunky distortion that is suitable to delivering the violence, yet catchy enough to thrill fans of various genres.

Most of the individual components do succeed on their own right, and in particular I like that Matt Cuthbertson's vocals often veer away into deeper, manly territories that create a cool counterbalance to the snarls, which often border on goofy. Tracks like "Bloodsoaked Mission" and "Hunting Evil" throw a ton of riffs at you, and many of them do stick, though I sometimes feel like the lead segments are nothing but needless. They're not 'bad', necessarily, I mean the guys can play, but I feel like they're a compromise and they often leech off some of the band's viral aggression, which would be better suited to just clout you over the head and leave the virtuosity to someone else. It's like someone handed Untimely Demise the metal handbook, and said 'let there be solos', and there are some pretty fucking extensive solos, tipping the balance from cool flights of frenzy to over-indulgence, and this album is so much better wherever it is void of them, like the forceful verse collisions of "City of Steel" and "The Unmaker".

Still, what I like most about these Canadians is that they understand that this genre requires riffs, and they've got a great many of them that largely show that care and effort was placed in their construction. I do often feel like a few of the songs could be edited down, because the band don't have that same level of efficient cohesion as say, Artillery, on their finer works, but I'll still take this over so many 'thrash band's that arrived with nothing to show for themselves but 80s worship, instead of realizing, 'gee, this music is still great and we could still do something with it'. Untimely Demise do not have such an inhibition, and while their product is not completely original (a lot of bands are writing such heavily melodeath influenced thrash), it's enthusiastic as opposed to sarcastic, and the result is you'll be banging your head and doing the air guitar far more than some crap like the band's similar countrymen 3 Inches of Blood, who Untimely Demise are far superior to.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com