I listen to a shot ton of music every month. As a distraction from rowdy co-workers and all the noise at my workplace, or in the background when chilling in the evening with a good glass of beer or whiskey. And as variety is the spice of life, each month I’ll try to check out a new band recommended to me by Last.fm and see if I like them or not based on their first record. This months recommendation:
Review #
Record: Goliath
Year: 2013
Genre: Metalcore, Thrash Metal
Recommended because off: Jinjer, Izegrim, The Charm The Fury
When I saw the promotion material for this band I immediately had formed an opinion for myself. Two hot looking ladies prominently placed in almost every photo looking pissed of into the camera. I expected some mediocre metal with two vocalists screaming their lungs to pieces on some basic lyrics about all that is wrong in the world. When the last chord reverberated through my living room, I felt that they delivered exactly that. But Butcher Babies did surprise me a little bit.
Mainly the raw angryness that they where able to put into this record. When the first few notes from the opener “I Smell A Massacre” hit, you’ll get blasted way back into your seat. The heavy riffs and growls from singers Heidi and Carla let you know that they mean business. And that they are really pissed off. Yes, these ladies can scream.
But to be honest, that’s the only decent thing about Butcher Babies. And, looking at why Last.fm recommended them to me I’m a little bit puzzled. Even vocal wise they don’t come anywhere near the vocal finesse of Jinjers’ Tatiana Shmaylyuk.
The other members from Butcher Babies do their stuff, They know how to play their instruments, but nothing really shines or raises my eyebrow. It’s just ok-ish. So I won’t go through every song from Goliath. The whole record kinda follows the same vibe, and only slightly mixes it up when they go into a more thrashy sound in a few songs. Here and there a few kewl riffs come along, but that is basically it.
Verdict #
I really struggled when I sat down to write this first impression. I wasn’t really impressed by this bands first outing and just wanted to write one sentence about it and be done with it. Butcher Babies just isn’t for me. So, better luck next month.
Tracklist #
- I Smell a Massacre
- Magnolia Blvd
- C8h18 (Gasoline)
- Grim Sleeper
- Goliath
- In Denial
- Give Me Reason
- The Mirror Never Lies
- Dead Poet
- The Deathsurround
- Axe Wound
- Werewolf of Wysteria