Suicide Silence-The Black Crown
Californian metallers Suicide Silence have spent the last few years building a core and faithful following with their particularly brutal brand of deathcore. "The Black Crown", their third full-length, branches out from their base sound into more metallic territory while losing none of its head-crushing edge and, as a result, feels like a natural progression for the band.
Vocalist Mitch Lucker spoke of the songs comprised as having 'more structure' than before and that can certainly be heard here. Lead single 'You Only Live Once' has an epic and sinister yet endearingly motivational spoken-word intro before diving into furious roars, riffs and blast-beats with the shout-along refrain of 'live life hard' remaining firmly in the brain from first listen and giving a sense of hope or escape from the problems dealt with lyrically throughout the album.
Elsewhere, Lucker's genuine fury, tackling issues such as addiction, loss of faith and betrayal, can be heard amidst Mark Heylmun's intricate guitar work, despairingly ferocious opener 'Slaves to Substance' being a fine example, serving to raise the record firmly above the hordes of other metalcore/deathcore bands around in the current musical climate. Korn's Jonathan Davis appears on the stompingly heavy 'Witness the Addiction' to compliment the song with an oddly anthemic chorus while Lucker's screams of 'liar!' echo ominously in the background making for a cacophonous beast of a song.
Of course, some fans may be deterred by these musical curveballs being thrown out within the Suicide Silence sound they're accustomed with but most shall see that they all work extremely well and embrace this chapter of the band's life. Seeing how hysterical the reaction was for the quintet's Download main stage opening slot in the hammering rain back in June should give plenty of support for the latter statement and solid evidence for the ever-expanding fan base behind them, this album shall only help quicken that sense of growth.
This is therefore a fine addition to the band's catalogue and a brilliant progression of their ideas. Any fans of deathcore wanting a little more to their music than just beat-downs and growls should definitely check this out.