In lieu of all the bands that try so hard, crave money, and disrespect their fans, it’s always such a breath of fresh air when you come across a band that not only respects their fans regardless of where they’re from but create such a sweet and heavy blend of music and keep it real in the process. Artica is a band from Du Bois, Pennsylvania that has just hit over one thousand “likes” on Facebook, which I think is a genuine crime against humanity because as far as I see it, they’re such a talented band and have so much potential in the deathcore / death metal scene. The four-piece band has had previous releases but this is their first release where their former guitarist has taken over as lead vocalist and I personally see it as a definite improvement when compared to their previous stuff. Artica is one of those bands that has such a rough and grimey sound to them that no matter what the production quality is you can’t help but listen and enjoy everything they put out. When I saw how unknown they were, I was expecting some fairly rough quality tracks but when it comes down to it, it’s definitely not as bad as it can be. If you’ve been a fan of deathcore for quite some time, you should be used to it by now anyway. The band mixes witty track titles with some of the gnarliest and heaviest breakdowns and blast beats I’ve heard in way too long.
Standout tracks on the 34-minute thrash fest also known as Flesh Carver are definitely “Velociraptor Vs Toronto Raptors” and “That Sucker Dug In Like An Alabama Woodtick” mostly because of the breakdowns but even in terms of the drums and guitars those two songs just always stood out whenever I spun the album. As a band, they remind me of so many other acts out there that create some insane music but always end up splitting before they can continue to create more due to financial issues or fighting in the band but when it comes Artica I don’t see them like that because they seem like the funniest and most chill guys I’ve seen in a band aside from Dr. Acula and Attila. They’re only here to have fun and create music for us, the fans. The ones who support them in their journey.
There’s really not much else to say about both the band and the full length. Flesh Carver isn’t a technical masterpiece. It’s not the most revolutionary album to be released this year and it’s not the strongest lyrically but the reason I’m in love with this album and band is because in every single song on this release you can tell that they’re having fun and no matter how angry or heavy it gets, you can still sense that pride that they have in their own music. I have an extreme weakness when it comes to heavy breakdowns and non-stop wreckage on a full length and these guys had me wrapped around their fingers for the entire 34 minutes because that’s all it was; pure wreckage and non-stop breakdowns. Don’t look too much into this release because you’ll be disappointed. Pick it up and be sure to support, sit back and enjoy every minute that your ears get demolished.
Links: Facebook – Bandcamp
