Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Privilege Of Approval
Label: Self-released
Release: 2010
Length: 14:53
Rating: 2/5
It’s clear from the first listen that these Austrian youngsters are blending old-school death metal melody with modern deathcore tricks, and it works convincingly and sounds pretty full despite a somewhat average, ad-hoc production. The band is a hellish fivesome: vocalist Phil, guitar veterans Patsch and Luksa, bassist Mosh and drum operative Greg. Privilege Of Approval are an unknown quantity, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to spot the main assets of their first trip into the studio: melody, breakdowns and brutal vocals. Heard it, seen it? There’s plenty to say about the artwork too. Let’s just say it doesn’t match the sonic assault. Metalcore and deathcore are the worn-out, thoroughly used-up whores of the modern music world, you could say. It’s hard to be innovative and original when musicians, in their perfectionism and focus on their own strengths, go for shortcuts and tried-and-tested recipes from already “bent” albums and proven acts. The result can only be a decent copy and a plastic sound that’s missing a pair of its own balls. Privilege Of Approval have put together a fun and humorous bundle of three high-octane little tracks, leaning heavily on a pretentious piano intro and outro on the EP, while everything in between is pure form. This Upper Styrian blend of thrash and death metal the core way is a very positive and commendable attempt, but on its skeleton of form there’s precious little of its own flesh. The sound is sharp, but it’s missing a backbone of its own, or a few more songs, so we could either sign off on a quality certificate or write the youngsters off as second-rate imitators. One Day Left is a very core-tuned attempt at Napalm Death aesthetics in a thrashy way, and it lacks nothing, as long as you haven’t listened to Killswitch Engage, As i Lay Dying or Unearth before. Those guys are, let’s say, the first league. And if copy-paste is how you sell a pair of well-worn shoes, we can sincerely wish them all the luck and hope they only run into unsuspecting crowds. Anyway, the fun is short-lived, the suffering of ears and soul likewise, and the gallop of musical instant food isn’t all that annoying. Fix the lyrics and, to spare themselves the embarrassment, steer clear of song titles like Huibu or Now We Are Really In The Soup, and maybe a standout idea worth more attention will finally spark somewhere in the cerebral wiring where the two brain hemispheres meet. This attempt is average but too imitative to shake up the music world and leave a crater worth mentioning or any sign that it ever existed!
Lineup
Philipp Haidler – vocals
Patrick Zach – guitar
Lukas Born – guitar
Gregor Grießer – bass
Gregor Halsmayer – drums
Production
Privilege Of Approval
Tracklist
1. Intro
2. One Day Left
3. Huibu
4. Now We Are Really In The Soup
5. Outro
