ABACABB - Survivalist (2009)

Genre: Deathcore/Hardcore
For fans of: Hatebreed, Emmure, Throwdown, Terror, Liferuiner

I know i'm gonna take a lot of shit for this review especially by the Carnifex fanboys but I'm going to be very honest about this review. As i've mentioned in the last two reviews we've got many deathcore bands out there right now all mixing Death Metal vocals with Metalcore style structures and sound. Very few of these bands stick true to the hardcore/punk roots that started this genre in the first place. ABACABB is here to show how loyal they are to the big boys (Hatebreed, Terror, you know the deal).

The cd starts off with a creepy intro with a movie sample (jesus whats with the scary intros) its from some old movie from the 90's I believe. Track 2 starts off with a really clever intro showing that this band deffinently knows what there doing with the small amount of material they have to work with. When it comes to musicianship these guys aren't at all top notch but they do sure as hell sound very good. Tracks 3 and 4 follow similar formula's as the last two tracks and feature lots of breakdowns (its like they don't want you to rest at all) the vocals consist of very low typical gutteral stuff to the occasional high pitched shriek (which is very impressive) and the of course.....gang vocal shouts. Track 5 gives us another movie sample then goes into the band shouting "WE ARE....SURVIVALISTS" its preatty obvious why the band picked this as the title track.

Once the second half of the album starts it of course starts to get very predictable but very interesting still. Its a wonder why the high pitched shrieks are barley used since they are better then the lows that are used the whole time. While the jug jug chord playing is decently interesting it would be nice if the band mixed in some melody from time to time which isn't used untilt the last song. The most impressive track for me had to be the last song which is a 10 minuete instrumental which mixes in sort of a creepy style melody and sets well for ending the cds dark assault.

To top it off the drummer and the vocalist were meant to steal the show with this band. The guitars are almost the same chords over and over and the bass is barley audible exept for the end of the album, when the instruments all go silent exept the bass. Somehow this album seems to entertain me very much wheather its the sing along lyrics or the fact that its so true to its roots that inspired it. Or maybe the name? we'll never know I gotta give this a decent score tho since I feel where these guys are going and I see the next record being much better.

Pros:
Very old school hardcore style
They know what they are doing
lots of cussing!!
Awesome cover

Cons:
Very predictable
They don't step outside of the box
Lyrics arent anything "shakephere"
Cover might make you waste your money

Overall: 7/10

Buy?: Look for the sale price or get it used if you feel you might love this album.