It seriously baffles me how good the scene seems to be down under. Most of my favourite “core” bands are from Australia and it almost makes me want to eventually move there. To name a few of those bands, Parkway Drive, Northlane, Buried In Verona (be on the lookout for an upcoming review of their new album, Notorious), Thy Art Is Murder, and the band that is being analyzed for this review, Resist The Thought.
Resist The Thought is a five-piece deathcore/metalcore band that formed in 2007. In the following year, they released their first EP entitled The Gift Of Sacrifice. A few years later, their debut full-length album, Damnation, hit the shelves. Both of these releases are above average which gave me pretty high expectations for their second full-length album, Sovereignty. It was released on May 18th via Skull And Bones Records.
My favourite part of this album is the guitar solos. In particular, I really enjoyed the solos on “Pledge Of Aversion”, “Extermination”, “Resurrect The Reaper”, and “Sovereignty”. Eddie Hermida of All Shall Perish has an appearance on the first track I mentioned, “Pledge Of Aversion”, which adds a bit more intensity to the track. The guitar leads that are layered behind the breakdown also remind me of All Shall Perish (along with the guest vocals, obviously). Another one of my favourites is the fifth track, “Resurrect The Reaper”. This track was released several months ago and upon hearing it, I was very excited for more new music from Resist The Thought, because it quickly became my favourite song by Resist The Thought. It’s extremely heavy, has some good riffs and a solo, and features CJ McMahon of Thy Art Is Murder. His appearance on this track is even more intense than Eddie’s guest spot on “Pledge Of Aversion”.
The vocals on Sovereignty are top-notch (especially the lows), the drumming is very fast-paced, and for the most part, the riffs sound like something you would hear in mid-2000s deathcore, not 2012. By reading this, it may seem like this riffing is a flaw, but just wait until you hear it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well.
Sovereignty is an album that I recommend to everyone that liked Resist The Thought’s previous releases and to people who are looking for a “throwback” deathcore/metalcore album. There are a few aspects that help to make this release stand out more than the typical album in this genre and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Despite those facts, I still prefer Damnation as my go-to Resist The Thought album.
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