We may be a North American-based review site but I never hesitate for a second when it comes to promoting European and overseas bands that deserve just as much recognition as any other band up here in our homelands. Today’s review is just one more example of the sheer brutality and talent that Europe exhibits on a regular basis. It’s time for Yesterday I Had Roadkill to be in the spotlight! This five-piece deathcore outfit from Wiesbaden, Germany has been around since February 2009 and have just recently celebrated four years together as a band. What better way to celebrate than by releasing one heck of a full-length album just before said anniversary? I’ve been following these Sauer-kraut’s since 2009 when they released their first EP because their blend of so many different elements left me wanting more. I’m so glad that they’ve decided to stick together because they’ve only gotten stronger since their 2009 EP release. Their popularity over here in North America (for the most part) is pretty much unknown, which is saddening to me because they’re just as talented, if not more, than a lot of the more popular deathcore bands that I’ve seen gain attention lately.
Age of Distrust is the band’s recent full-length’s title and it was released on December 21, which I know is a few months back, but I was busy with things and I’m just only getting around to it now. I knew I couldn’t not throw this review out there though because these guys truly do deserve all the recognition they get. Yesterday I Had Roadkill is a mix of deathcore, beatdown hardcore, and really growly death metal, which opens up opportunities in all kinds of genre spectrum. Sadly, the 10-track album only clocks in at 26 minutes, which I found to be a little short for a full length album. It seemed it ended so soon and it left me wanting more, which was definitely an upset for me. On the positive side, though, these tracks are full of heavy growls, chants, and exploding breakdowns. One thing that I also wasn’t really thrilled about was the stunning lack of high vocals. I’m not sure if their vocalist is unable to do them or if they’re just not a fan of them but this release had little to no high screams throughout the entire album.
Lyrically focused more on the destruction of earth, societal shortcomings and human disgust like most deathcore bands, Yesterday I Had Roadkill wasn’t too original in that sense, but they definitely had the anger and emotion in their songs that is always a plus. One thing about Age of Distrust that I loved so much was the ability to lead into breakdowns. They didn’t just get into it and rush through them like some bands, but rather they built a growing suspense into their breakdowns and finished them with devastating vocals, instrumentals or blast beats, or rather a mix of all three.
One more small thing that I found to be a little odd was that the band put an interlude as the eighth track of the album when after it only two more tracks remained. I always thought interludes were supposed to be more near the middle of an album to give listeners a minute or two to relax and regain themselves after being crushed by heavy tracks. Maybe the band thought differently but it was just something I found to be a little odd. The tracks themselves are nothing short of crushing and the amount of blast beats used are a great thing, if it’s what you are into. Don’t pass up on this crushingly heavy full length from some gnarly guys over in Europe. Yesterday I Had Roadkill deserves the recognition and praise just as much as the heavyweight deathcore bands in the scene today do.
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