Looks like the new year is starting off with a bang, and I’m not just talking about DJT’s inauguration ceremony. I’m talking about music, more specifically metal. There are a TON of anticipated releases set for this year, and one of the first came out this month. Deathcore heavyweights Aversions Crown have been making some serious waves in the Australian scene for some time. Their 2014 album Tyrant was forwarded to me by a friend, and to him I will always be grateful. It pushed me a little deeper into an area of metal I was already exploring, as Thy Art Is Murder was already on my radar. Tyrant was the perfect next step into Aversions Crown’s evolving sci-fi tech-deathcore sound. Their latest album, Xenocide, released on January 20th via Nuclear Blast Records, looks to be more of the same.
The Thanos/Darkseid looking behemoth that graces the cover of Xenocide couldn’t be a more accurate depiction of what’s inside; full blown universal destruction. The ominous tones of the intro ‘Void’ only make it that much more obvious. ‘Prismatic Abyss’ blasts you out of your seat, with newish vocalist Mark Poida making his presence known right away. Nothing against former front man Colin Jeffs, whose voice worked great for Tyrant, but Poida is a different beast. His power in all ranges is phenomenal. This, and his musical influence, along with drummer Jayden Mason and guitarist Chris Cougan’s song writing, takes Aversions’ music to another level. Sure, it’s still deathcore, but it’s more technical and diverse than that. Poida and Mason say Xenocide is a concept album. However, they will not elude as to what that concept is.
Besides the noticeable difference of Poida’s voice, the majority of the tracks on Xenocide are a little more up tempo compared to Tyrant. I appreciate this, since Tyrant drug at times, and this keeps Xenocide more interesting and flow better. Also, the variation in song writing isn’t just in tempo, but also in style. The diversity I spoke of earlier can be heard in the tech-death blasts of ‘Odium,’ the blackened sounds of ‘Ophiophagy,’ or the progressive variances of ‘Erebus.’ All these variations are tight and smooth, no doubt due to the renowned mixing techniques of Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, Carnifex) of Audio Hammer Studios.
Much like the godfathers Carnifex, Aversions Crown are carving their own niche. Not content to be just another brutal deathcore band, they are pushing themselves to evolve into something more. Aversions Crown unleashes a relentless barrage across these ten songs full of dystopian nightmares and hostile extraterrestrial encounters. Xenocide may be the soundtrack of 2017, or the coming invasion.
Songs
- Void
- Prismatic Abyss
- The Soulless Acolyte
- Hybridization
- Erebus
- Ophiophagy
- The Oracles of Existence
- Cynical Entity
- Stillborn Existence
- Cycles of Haruspex
- Misery
- Odium
Playing Time: 50:24
Release date: January 20, 2017
Label: Nuclear Blast
Website: www.facebook.com/AversionsCrown
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