1. Barbossa
2. Bastardo
3. Gangsta’s Paradise
4. The Healing
5. Fick Das Fett
6. Rhagenfels
7. Through Dark Gates
8. Blut
9. The Butcher’s Guilt
10. Kontrol
11. From Dirt We’ll Rise
12. I Am Your Judgement Day
13. A Song of Ice and Fire
Artas are an Austrian band playing a blend of extreme metal. The most prevailing genre that arises is death metal but there is a strong metalcore feel. Interestingly enough, the music evades the successful trap of becoming deathcore and this is not the only unique attribute the band possesses; song lyrics appear in German, English and Spanish, no two songs sound the same and a metalized cover of the Coolio hit ‘Gangasta’s Paradise’ finds its way on the album. All this and it is just the band’s debut.
Overall, the album is relentless and bursting with aggression. Most of the riffs are strenuous and intense, as can be heard on ‘Bastardo’ but conversely, there are a few melodic-drenched guitar parts, most noticeably on ‘The Butcher’s Guilt’. ’Blut’ contains a rather catchy riff that bears similarities between Nile’s ‘Sacrifice Unto Sebek’.
The weakest point on this album is the vocals. When the vocalist is not employing the typical hardcore rasps, he is attempting a waylaid shout or a weak attempt to singing gruffly. A traditional death metal growl would have sufficed. Unfortunately, some of the riffs and drumming are less than compelling and will leave the mind wondering into other unrelated matters. Additionally, ‘Through Dark Gates’ opens and closes with a commercial rock sounding passage, ill-constructed and has no musical relevance to the rest of the song. The Healing is worth a spin if the listener is a great fan of metalcore. Otherwise, the average metalhead will probably not reap as much from it.
Reviewed by Elena Francis
‘The Healing’ is out now through Napalm Records.
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