Not only does this place have some of the most beautiful landscapes, coolest of animals, and most undeniably sexy accents, but this nation has spawned some of the best, most brutal, and well-liked bands in the past decade and this one is no exception to that statement.Without further adieu, I present to you Alice Through The Windshield Glass! This band’s name already gives you a feeling that things are about to get a whole lot more brutal in your life and I’m here to confirm that feeling. Forming back in 2007, Alice Through The Windshield Glass comes from the land of didgeridoos and kangaroos; more specifically Sydney, Australia. Bringing forth a very tight blend of technical deathcore fused with death metal, the band definitely knows what fans of heavy music are looking for. Most people nowadays would say they sound like Signal The Firing Squad or Boris The Blade but to be technical about things, ATTWG formed before STFS or BtB so in actuality, those bands are following in the footsteps of the boys in Alice.
Releasing their first EP entitled Keep Your Eyes On The Road back in 2009, things were relatively quiet in the scene when it came to Alice Through The Windshield Glass. It wasn’t until roughly six months ago that I was doing some research did I find out that they were in the process of releasing a full-length; I was under the impression that they had split up. Thankfully though, they didn’t and they’ve just recently released their full-length Brutalis Australis on September 16th and this has to be one of the most technical and heavy releases to come from Australia all year! I know Signal The Firing Squad just released their new album but Alice is definitely right up there with them in terms of bringing the heavy.
After the short intro, we’re immediately hit with the first real song, “A Painful Awakening”, and you start to know the technicality and brutally harsh vocals right away. The lead up to the ending breakdown honestly made me so happy when I first heard it. I was down to crush something before, during, and after the song had finished; that’s the effect it had over me. One of my only complaints about the album was that they decided to put some audio bits in the background of some of the songs, more notably “Inclination” and quite honestly I didn’t think it worked well. I found it to be too jumbled and chaotic. I enjoy when bands use audio bits from movies, shows, etc., but more when they let it play through and then introduce the vocals and or instrumentals. I just don’t think the mix of fast drums and guitars blended well with it.
On a more positive note I was really happy with the length of the album. It just surpassed 42 minutes and most of the albums I tend to review don’t come close to that time. I just really enjoyed the fact that I had plenty of time to jam to each track, get a real good feel of what they were going for as well as the fact that the brutality seemed to be never ending. I personally asked the band what kind of lyrical content we could expect from this album and I was told the album is written as an apocalyptic view of Australia including the animals, weather, riots, and natural disasters. Just everything you could imagine leading up to what they defined as “judgement day”. I’m really impressed it’s not just a Chelsea Grin-esqe kind of lyrical style; hating on ex girlfriends, woman in general, mutilation and the latter. I enjoy that but to a certain extent, sometimes it’s just a breath of fresh air to have something new and that’s what I really like about Brutalis Australis. All in all, I was not disappointed – as usual – with what the music scene in Australia has to offer.
8.3/10
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