Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Agony Scene, The
Label: Century Media
Release: 2008
Rating: 2.5/5
The third album from Oklahoma metalcore assailants The Agony Scene, very warmly titled (“Get Damned”), came out on Century Media, which makes it the third label the guys have switched to so far in their career. They put out one album on each. Landing at Century Media fits right in with their evolution. The label is busy looking after a nice big bundle of metalcore bands under its wing, and The Agony Scene have sprouted new creative wings of carefree looseness, which gave them the push to make their toughest album yet.
The Agony Scene are a technically razor-sharp band. The song structures are dead simple, but the mood caught inside them is highly effective. Elementary thrash riffs, masterfully warmed up so they plug into a wild ride with a “tinny”-sounding, intensely galloping drum charge that runs with Swiss-watch precision and is masterfully separated in the production. The production is fantastic overall, with that captured “live” feel this approach demands. The vibes are dark, loaded with morbidity, anger and pain. The vocals, along with the gang shouts, are typical for “core” genres. Mike Williams sings (interestingly!) with an approach that brings him close to the barking of In Flames vocalist Anders Friden (In Flames’ later period).
The opener, Barn Burner, delivers a shot of adrenaline straight into the vein and immediately convinces you that these guys don’t just know their stuff, they can play at an outstanding level. The technical polish and the fury they pour on like oil on a fire gallop together through the album from the first minute to the last. Of course, the guys steer wide of tempo changes (transitional parts) and of overcomplicating things with guitar solos. Everything is played on the bare principle of assault: direct, sharp, simple, bold and precise. The brutally roaring vocal is easier on the ears in tone and approach, so on that front it can reach a wider audience too, since a pinch of melody sparkles through it the whole time, even if it’s bursting with the sheer tonnage of the avalanche of screaming it spews out. Clean vocals aren’t ruled out either. They work as a shift in atmosphere and are extremely rare, except in the last song, Old Scratch, where they carry the whole chorus (the riff drops out there, but the gap is boldly filled with double bass pedal). So the sound is kept busily packed with voltage and eruption throughout! Every now and then the guys break up the potential monotony of the record with passages of triple double-guitar harmonies (Deliverance, Dances With The Devils), either behind individual choruses or at the song outros. Very simple, but as said, bringing in melody adds more dynamics and builds on the colorfulness of the album’s moods.
“Get Damned” confirms most of what the band does: blending elements of thrash metal and hardcore into a sound of their own. The problem isn’t that “Get Damned” isn’t a perfectly solid album. It’s just that everything we hear on “Get Damned” has more or less been heard before. So no special flashes of inspiration, just an album that fits standard “metalcore” molds. Very predictable and calculated. The riffs are borrowed, and the guys patch up the borrowing by hiding the riffs behind a “fat” vocal screech. There’s no shortage of bands like that on the scene today. And if you set out collecting albums by this kind of band from the US, you’ll probably struggle to stumble on a bad one, it’s just that none of them will bring anything new. The genre is clearly getting saturated. Wit and imagination will become an ever more sought-after and valued virtue. The best and the founders survive. We’ll see how the scene develops from here.
Lineup
Mike Williams – vocals
Chris Emmons – guitar
Brian Hodges – guitar
Chris Rye – bass
Ryan Folden – drums
Production
Andreas Magnusson
Track list
1. Barnburner
2. Predation
3. Dances with Devils
4. Adversary
5. White Knights
6. Rapture
7. Deliverance
8. Rattle Me Bones
9. Opposition
10. Will to Bleed
11. Old Scratch
Album length: 36.38
