S.W.W.A.A.T.S. The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
After listening to The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry, the debut offering from Florida’s Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky, you have to wonder if this is the future of death metal, at least on American shores. It’s been a while since the American death metal scene had much to offer; instead metalcore has been our chief export. It was inevitable that someone would take what could be salvaged from the metalcore sound and incorporate it into the traditional death metal template.
Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky borrows liberally from Carcass and Napalm Death, as well as Hatebreed and Converge (and at the root of all four, Slayer, always Slayer), creating a brutal and blistering answer to the melodic and gothic types of death metal that has come to dominate the European scene. Without a trace of melody to be found, The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry is a lethal ensemble of old school grind, all-out speed and guttural vocals spewing bleakly nihilistic lyrics.
One knock against the band is their mallcore name and lengthy, too clever by half, song titles. Seriously, wasn’t that kind of thing perfected nearly 15 years ago when Carcass first cracked open their medical textbooks?
The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry is devastating death metal that serves as a manifestation of bloody rage for the seething masses. Of course, if you prefer the melodic Swedish style of death metal, and aren’t a big metalcore fan, you probably won’t have much use for Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky. Still, you have to acknowledge the birth of something new and very vital that should send waves through the death metal status quo.
Label: Nuclear Blast
Lineup:
John Paul Collett II – Vocals
Ian Sturgill – Guitar, Vocals
A. Lee Haines – Guitars
Mike Heller – Drums
Jen Muse – Samples
Matt Simpson – Bass
Track Listing:
1. 10,000 Sermons, 1 Solution
2. The Realization That Mankind is Viral In Its Nature
3. Cattle
4. Agenda
5. Pity the Living, Envy the Dead
6. Despot
7. A Path
8. Automated Oration and the Abolition of Silence
9. One Must Imagine Sysiphus Happy
10. Colossus
11. Retrograde and the Anointed
12. Of Worm, Jesus Christ and Jackson County, Mississippi
13. The Tamagotchi Gesture
14. Hidden Track
Online: On MySpace
HRH rating: 7.5/10