It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve reviewed something extremely heavy, but now I finally have something of this nature to write about. This review is on the DIY metalcore/deathcore band from Tennessee that goes by the name ‘The Human Condition’. Their recently released album, Death Blessings, can be downloaded for free from this Mediafire link (don’t worry, it was posted by the band), so there’s no reason for you to pass it up!
Death Blessings opens with the melodic intro track titled “Final Vision”. It starts off very peacefully and beautifully, and picks up even more around the 50 second mark. After the aforementioned transition, “Final Vision” reminds me of Chelsea Grin’s “Elysium” because of the beautiful and melodic, yet heavy, sound. This is an excellent way to start the album, albeit slightly misleading.
If I hadn’t known any better, I would have expected The Human Condition to be a melodic metalcore band after hearing the intro track, however, the second track really gave me a good idea of what to expect from the rest of the release. “8×6” is a very aggressive track with crushing lows, low-end bass, and chugs from the depths of Hell. There are a few melodic moments on “8×6”, but not quite enough to deem The Human Condition a melodic metalcore/deathcore band.
Throughout the remaining 20 minutes of Death Blessings, The Human Condition keeps things fairly straight-forward. Just as they do in the first two tracks, they mix devastating vocals and instrumentals with the occasional melodic bit. Because there isn’t a whole lot of variety, some tracks sound so similar and it seems like the album only contains four six-minute-long songs. With that being said, however, there is one song that stood out a bit more than the others — “The Procession”. From extremely heavy breakdowns to melodic leads and groovy chugs, “The Procession” has it all. With the addition of an impressive blast beat to kick-start the song, this will probably be a favourite for many other listeners as well.
Simply put, Death Blessings is very well done. It’s heavy and sometimes melodic, but most importantly, fun to listen to. This release is not necessarily something that will blow you away because of its originality, but it could very well be an album that fans of Legend, Sworn In, and Confession come back to listen to quite frequently.
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