The Architects Of Guilt
from The Famine
[February 15, 2011 - Solid State]
Review by Phil FreemanREVIEWS
FILE UNDER: Death metal
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It seems pretty clear that Texas-based death-metal band the Famine like the Black Dahlia Murder a lot. That’s fine; lots of people do. But there are a few moves cribbed straight from the BDM playbook on The Architects Of Guilt, including but not limited to the screech-and-growl vocals, the melodic solos tucked into death-metal riff-storms and the ability to write songs that are damn close to catchy while staying extreme. Oh, and then there’s the fact that the Famine use the exact same font as the Black Dahlia Murder for their name. But don’t blow this album off just because it has some superficial similarities to the work of another (excellent) band; The Architects Of Guilt is the work of an assured and talented group of musicians. Drummer Mark Garza’s playing is particularly impressive, adding unexpected subtlety to “Bigger Cages, Longer Chains!” while jackhammering the listener into submission on “The Crown And The Holy See” and “Ad Mortem.” Bassist-turned-vocalist Nick Nowell’s upper-register delivery is more powerful and unnerving than his death-metal roars, but he’s always a compelling presence, and guitarist Andrew Godwin offers catchy riffs and squiggly solos, as well as chugging breakdowns reminiscent of Demiricous’ excellent, overlooked Two (Poverty). This is the album you want to play for anyone who thinks Texas metal died with Dimebag Darrell.
“The Crown And The Holy See”
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NOT Black Dahlia Murder
02/10/2011 - 11:57am by Nathaniel
This isn't so much a review as it is something that needs to be said regarding the "BDM influence".
With two minutes of research, you'll find that members of The Famine (including former vocalist Kris McCaddon) were once in a band called Embodyment. Embodyment's first record, Embrace the Eternal (released in 1998 on Solid State Records) is one of the best and most overlooked metal records of the last 15 years. Why is it overlooked? Because at the time of it's release (again, 1998), very few bands, especially metal bands, who were on Christian record labels were taken seriously. Partly because of the fact that no one thought "Christian" metal could be good (thank you, Stryper), and partly because some people on both sides wanted the "Christian" scene to stay separate from the secular scene. That changed of course, when a few bands crossed over and the labels saw the money coming in on both the Christian AND secular side. (The perception of Christian labels should be no different than that of secular labels. They're in the business to make money. The fact that they may or may not be run by Christians makes no difference, especially seeing that labels like Tooth & Nail and it's branch label Solid State routinely sign bands that aren't necessarily "Christian". Not to mention the fact that at a Christian book/music store, a CD can easily run you $20. Why? Because they know someone will pay it, and in a time before Amazon.com and eBay, people paid. There was no other way to purchase them. The market was cornered.)
Anyways, why bring this up? Well, I have no idea what the beliefs or non-beliefs of the members of The Famine are, and I honestly don't care. That's not what this is about. Review after review is comparing The Famine to Black Dahlia Murder, whether saying it's a straight-up ripoff or being heavily influenced by BDM, and in some cases completely waving them off because of it. Embodyment's Embrace The Eternal record, as I've said, came out in 1998 and the sound and style from that record has continued in The Famine. It's easy to say "it sounds like BDM", because they're the only band (maybe not the ONLY, but maybe the first) band you know with that sound. I am not claiming that Embodyment invented the wheel. It's very easy to hear where their influences came from. But when you trace back through the history of the members of the band and see that they've had this sound and style well before The Black Dahlia Murder even existed, it's hard for me to sit back and just let the comparisons slide. Embodyment went in a completely different musical direction after that first album, but the sound and style of The Famine is a definite continuation of the Embrace The Eternal record.
