Focus Reviews

Destroyer Destroyer - Littered With Arrows
Style: Grind/Metalcore/Noise
Running Time: 30 Minutes and 26 Seconds
Label: http://www.goodfellowrecords.com


Starting us with something that sounds vaguely reminiscent of The Number Twelve Looks Like You while not as long song wise usually Destroyer Destroyer's debut release on Goodfellow Records reminds us that there are still bands out there capable of pulling off great releases that are just completely out of the norm. You could compare Destroyer Destroyer with the likes of TN12LLY, Vessels Cast From Crippled Hands, and Converge realistically speaking they are an amalgamation of all three. Combining Converge's brooding hardcore with TN12LLY's more chaotic moments and high pitched shrieks and this is all a compliment to their jarring rhythm section.

Not exactly a mind fuck of an album but one that will leave you scratching your head, 'Littered With Arrows' throws everything it can at you in 30 minutes of music. Screeching guitars that venture into being chaotically beautiful when songs like "Off The Beaten Path" take a break from the shrieking and play melodically into a building ambiance. Though these moments are few and far between and abrupt in passage on 'Littered With Arrows' the albums more chaotic moments are what really defines the band.

Starting the album off with a near minutes worth of twangs and pangs "Trial" gets you prepared for the aural beating that your ears are about to take as "A Golden Technique" rings out for nearly two minutes of scathing vocal pitch and heavy bass work. For the most part every song is pretty non-identifiable as a whole but there are parts of many songs that just leave you going 'wow, where the hell did that come from'. Theres enough stop start riff work here to make your mouth water and enough technical variation to make your stomach feel queasy. In a good way Destroyer Destroyer rape your ears and leave them ringing when the albums over, but in that sense, they also leave you wanting to hear this album over and over again, craving that technically jarring playing that just cascades over this entire album.

While after a few minutes the headache inducing shriek of vocalist Jamie Schnetzler gets annoying, the deeper screams that accompany these high pitched vocals really work well within the frame of every song they are featured in. The vocal work, regardless of how annoying it is on occasion, makes for a great sound that accompanies the music contained on this album very well and honestly I don't think any other style would have fit this music so well. Both chaotic, both brilliantly working together to create harsh devastating tones.

Bottom line here, your ears are going to be destroyed by the time 'Littered With Arrows' is over, but in every high pitched shriek, in every stop start rhythm moment, in every beating of that double bass kick to your head Destroyer Destroyer make you a fan. Discordantly beautiful and refreshingly zany compared to a lot of sub par releases this year, Goodfellow has made a great pick up of these Oklahoma boys and 'Littered With Arrows' is a fantastic album.

Score: 7.5/10