THE HOLY GUILE "FSU" ALBUM REVIEW

Are you tired of all the fake, generic Deathcore bands that sound the same and keep coming out every damned time you're trying to listen to some really aggressive music? I'm sure you might be in a scene where trends, look-alike riffage, predictable lyrics and contents are lowering the standards of the genre.

However, there are still some really amazing and creative bands that are still able to write some really cool stuff. A really satisfying discovery that may save you from this boredom is a five-piece band hailing from the US. Formed in 2011 as a side project of The Crimson Armanda's vocalist Saud Ahmed, The Holy Guile are a new talented Technical Deathcore band which built a good fan base with their debut EP "Guardians 2.0".  That release came out in November 2011 and features four tracks that also appear on their new record "FSU", which was just released this January.

This new project brings a way more authentically aggressive, heavy, and technical approach to this music featuring some incredibly powerful, fast and crushing breakdowns (check out the breakdown in the middle of their single "Stroke Strokely") among with a very remarkable riffage. The whole thing is mixed with some really amazing high screams that frequently get incredibly fast, getting to a sort of Rap/Deathcore singing style (especially in the song "Idahoe" and the single "The Celebration"), which suggest a strange but actually incisive "nu metal" take on the Deathcore genre.

The main lyrical topic is religion, with a lot of criticism to some of the narrow-minded christian views (check out songs like "Fap Fap" or "Cool Story" or even the last track "Pac'alypse") but also to the music industry always investing on the same acts and trends deploring real talent and passion. These guys also manage not to take themselves too seriously trying to keep their attitude positive, simple and at the same time very straight-forward, both musically and lyrically.

The only flaw of the album is that it doesn't bring a lot of new material because four out ten songs in the track-list were already featured in the first EP so you actually get only six new tracks, but these guys really gave us a good reason to still believe in underground metal and they are also really positive and funny dudes so you definitely need to check out their stuff below and purchase their debut album on iTunes, if you like what you hear.

- MATTIA

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