Crimson Falls - _Downpours of Disapproval_
(Independent, 2013)
by: Aly Hassab El Naby (3 out of 10)
A deathcore record with gang vocals and sub-tempo down-tuned breakdowns; what a surprise! _Downpours of Disapproval_, the third studio album from Belgium's Crimson Falls, comes four years after its predecessor and is an album without label support. It could be due to the fact that record labels around Europe and North America are already realizing the frailty and short shelf-life of this sub-genre of metal and are gradually letting go of their surplus suppliers. On another note, it could be because there are just so many bands out there playing this kind of metal that they make it impossible for record labels to sign them all. Of course this is a matter of market supply and demand, which will never stop ebbing and flowing. Luckily, metal market trend analysis isn't what we do best here at CoC, so on with music.

Right after the first listen, the disapproval initiates. _Downpours of Disapproval_ creates an environment where the listener becomes placid and slightly numb; looking every few minutes to see how many tracks are left until this thing is over. There are lots of moments throughout this record that really give off the vibe that time keeps on slowing down. Take for example the incessant and utterly annoying vocals on "How Much Does Life Weigh" or the nefarious and insipid rap-like ranting on "Culture of Cancellation". The guitar tone is quite generic and the drums sound so unnatural and flat to the point that the bass drum and all the toms sound very much like each other.

The transition near the end of "Testify" where the drums follow the rhythm pattern and create a background for the lead guitar to shine is arguably the album's finest moment as far as musicianship goes; this part, and maybe the energetic blasting on the opener "Resurrection", are the finer moments available here but not really much more than that. Feel free to skip _Downpours of Disapproval_ without thinking twice about it. In all its mediocrity, it succeeds in highlighting how bad deathcore can be and probably in making more and more people averse to this occasionally exciting sub-genre of metal. This is an album that comes with a fitting name; it really deserves a downpour of disapproval.

Contact: https://www.facebook.com/crimson.falls.9

(article published 10/11/2013)


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