With Dead Hands Rising

Expect Hell

[2.5/5]

With Dead Hands Rising’s melodic-death riffs-in conjunction with singer Burke VanRaalte’s vowel-intensive surname-suggest Swedish origins. Instead, the group’s members hail from Minneapolis where they’ve spent the past four years tinkering with metalcore alchemy. On Expect Hell, the quintet ration their breakdowns, serving a few hearty chugs but never falling into a plodding groove. For the most part, WDHR shift from fast (hardcore) to faster (thrash) to fastest (grind), with drummer Daniel Koppy sprinting capably through the heavy-music cross-training regimen and VanRaalte barking in various pitches like a one-man dogfight. Guitarists Ty Inhofer and Logan Branjord intertwine tightly during the band’s harmonic solos, but their instrumental showcase (“Momentary Alphabetic Convergence”) isn’t especially compelling. Competent in multiple sub-genres, With Dead Hands Rising still want for real contrast because their slower passages aren’t nearly as interesting as their shredding. (MEDIASKARE) Andrew Miller