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By RYAN MAVITY
Montana’s Martriden is one of the most impressive new metal bands you will hear. Combining a mix of extreme, doom and progressive, the band’s self-titled EP is a nice appetizer for the group’s upcoming full-length debut.
The first track, “Blank Eye Stare,” is a good indication of the band’s range. The track veers back and forth between death metal snarls and moody acoustic parts. “The Art of Death Infernal” is a song moshers will love as the band settles into a one-two kick drum section that complements the almost catchy bass, guitars and vocals. This song shows some aspects of thrash metal. Martriden is not one of these bands who play a one-dimensional, “hammer the bass drums as many times as humanly possible while vocalist growls incomprehensibly for six minutes” style. “In Death We Burn” has echoes of Dimmu Borgir, minus the keyboards. This track also shows off the band’s skill in writing some pretty cool guitar riffs, something extreme and black metal bands are not always known for. Finally, “Set a Fire in Our Flesh,” combines power metal rhythms with a death metal vocal and drums.
A special note also must be given to producer Dave Otero because this EP is really fucking loud. Otero produced the death metal band Cephalic Carnage, who also have a big sound, and the production style works well for the music. Black and death metal sound truly awe-inspiring and, if possible, even more evil when the production is big and loud as opposed to the lo-fi production favored by bands like Mayhem.
I certainly hope to hear Martriden’s debut when it comes out (according to their label, the band starts recording in July). These guys have the potential to be players in the metal scene for a long time.
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