“We hold a blunt knife to the throat of a colossus.”
The modern landscape of deathcore showcases the genre in the strongest light it’s ever been, in my opinion. The way in which the genre has managed to manoeuvre its way into the more mainstream end of the alternative music world has been fascinating to watch. This, of course, is mostly owed to recent breakthrough bands such as Slaughter To Prevail and Lorna Shore with their instant gratification style of breakdown-heavy tunage, taking the world by storm by exposing the music world to the utmost dutty side of music.
Naturally, much like with any style that gains a larger presence in the greater cultural consciousness, this has led to more derivative bands attaching themselves to the movement. It happened with metalcore vis-a-vis Architects and Bring Me The Horizon in the 2010s, and it will surely continue to happen until the end of time as we know it, with whatever genres sequentially follow in the scene’s collective hegemony.
Godeater, however, is no such band. Taking influence from what seems to be a broad spectrum of death metal, djent and several core-adjacent labels, the UK deathcore newcomes seek to carve their own niche in the steadily saturating market of extreme music by combining and further bolstering the styles that influence their sound, to create a truly unique sonic makeup in the grand scheme of modern core.
Their strengths are apparent from the moment you begin Vespera with “Self-Surgery”, whose opening moments usher in a gloomy, atmospheric introduction that work to set the record’s oppressive, uneasy tone, before dropping you into a non-stop ride of chugs, blasts and riffs. The most notable addition to this sonic spectrum from the jump here is the nigh-on triumphant clean vocals, demonstrating the band’s heightened emphasis on dynamics.
As the record continues at blistering pace, more influences are added into the fold. The djent influences seeps through on album highlight “Fat of the Land”, seeing some heavily gated chugs enter the fold, amongst some almost Veil of Maya-esque tech riffs. Further, the classic death metal-esque riffing on “Silhouette” provides a recontextualised inclusion of the style, housed between elements of atmospheric gaze and progressive metal.
Late-album cut “Out of Body” seeks to further explore the band’s dynamics, with the track’s first minute or so exploring a far more overtly melodic soundscape than anything that has come before it. This, of course, is soon juxtaposed by one of the album’s most outwardly techy, aggressive and bouncy tracks. The song’s belted chorus proves to be the most enjoyable of the album’s many clean vocal sections too, with a truly anthemic weight to the whole thing.
Through tracks such as these, Vespera carves its own niche and proves to be one of the most enjoyable extreme-adjacent releases of the year. Combining elements of core, tech-metal and prog, what Godeater have crafted here will certainly go down as a 2022 favourite for many. While the album’s eight-track run without a doubt left me wanting more, there’s certainly worse a project can be guilty of than simply leaving me yearning for further material.
9/10
Vespera is available now via self-release, and you can find the record here.