When I was in high school, I listened to quite a few bands on Victory Records; I loved the first two records by ATREYU. I spent my entire summer before college rocking out to their one with the vampire lady on the cover. Even more, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, one of my absolute favorites, was among the Victory alumni. However, I find myself slightly estranged from the label, not having listened to any of their bands in recent years.
And that’s not to say anything negative about them. I just find myself focused more on the progressive and death side of metal. But when I saw SHATTERED SUN on Maestro’s grab board and gave them a listen, I was pleasantly surprised. The group’s second full length, The Evolution of Anger, is out now and has made me considerably happy to once again be enthralled with a group on the victorious label.
This was my first time hearing the group and I have to say I’ve been missing out. This disc is packed with all the nuts and bolts a metalhead could want: great riffs, soaring leads, harsh vocals and just the right touch of melody to take the chorus lines to sing-along status. Even better, the group breaks away from all of the sub-genre semantics that have become incredibly annoying in today’s scene. This is straight-forward metal.
The opening track, “Keep Your Eyes Shut”, crashes through the door, throwing down with no hesitation. But the brawler also offers an anthemic hook that you’ll find lodged in your skull for days to come. This sets the stage for what’s to come on the nine track to follow. Some of the higher moments can be heard on “Blame”, “Hollow Chains”, “Die For Nothing”, “Burn It Down” and “Hope Dies”.
The riffs are thrashing and the drums hit hard in all the right places; but atop all of that rides the flawless vocals. I liken frontman Marcos Leal’s voice to two of my favorite singers, the clean singing remind me of Daren Miller of CKY, while the screaming areas hold a hint of similarity to the yelling of Corey Taylor on more recent SLIPKNOT records.
From front to back, The Evolution of Anger is a great listen. The songs check off all the marks on the list and the band sounds completely organic delivering their gimmick-free brand of metal. I am willing to bet that a good chunk of the record makes its way into your favorites playlist. So be sure to grab the latest from SHATTERED SUN. As per the usual, you can thank me later. Better yet, forward the thank you’s to our friends over at Victory Records.
STANDOUT TRACKS: “Keep Your Eyes Shut”, “Blame”, “Hollow Chains”, “Die For Nothing”, “Burn It Down”, “Hope Dies”
RATING: 8/10
–FRENCH CHEESE
