DISTORTA/ SHATTERFACE

DISTORTA     “Deadman” EP

SHATTERFACE     “Deviate” EP

By Dr. Abner Mality

The Aussies sure like their EP’s. Most of what I get from Oz comes in the form of EPs. Well, here are two more...let’s dive into ‘em.

DISTORTA are a known quantity, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I reviewed another EP of theirs. Hot on its heels comes “Deadman” and this continues in much the same manner as “Devil In The Dust”. It’s thoroughly modern metal that combines groove with melodic death metal and more commercial elements in an interesting way. I think they play around with melody a bit more here. “Deadman” opens things with a strong hook, but the raw vocals of Dmitry Keremetskiy add a rabid touch of melodic death metal. DISTORTA continues their unique mixture of harsh and raw lead vocals, but very smooth and accessible backing vocals. “Long Way” has a rather sad and melancholy feel even though it races along like DARK TRANQUILITY or something of that ilk. The chorus is rather infectious.  Unfortunately, “The Reaper” is a rather bland mid-tempo follow-up. “Deafening Sins” has a kind of simple choppy rhythm in a nu-metal way, but Dmitry’s vocals are just ravaging and the chorus again kind of sinks into your brain. “When the War Is Over” finishes things off and is heavy enough, but not particularly outstanding. There is something inherently likable about DISTORTA but “Deadman” is not a huge advance on their previous EP. They need to take the plunge into a full length and really spend some time with it.

SHATTERFACE is a new name to me and it’s obvious listening to “Deviate” that they are heavily into FEAR FACTORY and STATIC-X. It’s metal with strong industrial/techno elements and it has a certain raw appeal, but it’s not up to the level of the two previously mentioned bands. “Aftermath” is a bit of a messy intro that shows the production is not quite right for this kind of music. The vocalist does have a really aggressive snarl that stands out and adds some oomph. “Amplify” and “Depreciate” are pretty bald-faced in lifting from FEAR FACTORY, with synth bleeps and rhythms accentuating the riffs. Yet despite the derivativeness, these songs do have some strong riffs and I found my head banging despite reservations. “Dominate” tries to add orchestral string sounds to a much more techno-infused track...there’s some almost death metal down-tuned murk in this one. Have to say “Deviate” is a mixed bag, yet not without interest and potential. Like DISTORTA, they need to do a full length and really work on the songwriting.

We’ll see what comes of these two…

DISTORTA     

SHATTERFACE