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| #FOR FANS OF: Metalcore, As I Lay Dying |
Chronic Xorn is a metalcore band based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India who had been around since 2007. Below is my review of their recent studio, 'For These Sins Who Must Die'. Now, there is a satisfactory element in this sophomore studio album, but no matter how committed the band's effort is in this release, it's still isn't a memorable offering because of the run-of-the-mill metalcore riffs and cliché metalcore breakdowns that are very much alike to those early As I Lay Dying records. Released by the band independently last December 18th of 2017, 'For These Sins Who Must Die' is their follow up to their 2012 debut "From Mercy". What this release offer is a material full of stocky palm mutes and hackneyed core-esque racing hooks.
The first thing I've noticed about this album is that every song sounds exactly the same and the songwriting is pretty poor and generic. Every track has that identical and typical metalcore riff followed by some generic swivel riff clearly stolen from 'Slaughter of the Soul' by At The Gates. For its 23 minutes of playing time, this formula is repeated over and over without offering anything absorbing and appealing along the way. Chronic Xorn, like most of their metalcore contemporaries, committed the most cliché mistake in the genre and that is having a poor and bad song structure. They literally sound like every generic metalcore band out there.
Outside from the fact that the listeners will get stuck with boring riffs, we are also showered with habitual breakdowns and a terrible trying hard death metal vocals. One can notice immediately that the band's vocalist sounds like one of those angry teenage kids uploading their 'how to do extreme metal vocal' videos on youtube to try and catch attention. There is absolutely no variation in his delivery and he gives every indication of the routine cancerous weak hipster death metal vocal conveyance. Bassline might be audible, especially in the melodic and soft parts, but the bassist doesn't do anything vindicating. He just follows the guitar and is pinned behind the whole time.
Chronic Xorn's drummer had surprised me with his performance behind the kit though. His drumming is pretty sufficient and it is good enough that it rises above the mediocre level. Dude has plenty of variation in his strike patterns and his pacing. The well-developed drum patterns that he was able to convey in here makes the audience expect something more than the dullness of the other instruments. I also do admire the production of 'For These Sins Who Must Die'. The album wins my favor with the fact that the production is pretty good and that all the instruments and layers are easily deciphered.
Though this sophomore studio release of Chronic Xorn has a few decent sections, it still fails to impress and it disappoints in so many levels especially when we talk about the all in all outcome of the offering due to its dreadfully repetitive and predictable song structure. From the guitar part, vocals, and lyrical themes; 'For These Sins Who Must Die' is just the same garden-variety metalcore music done again and again. Well, I guess some of you had already figured that out by just looking at the album cover. Yes, we can hear a room for improvement from this band, but they sure are in a long way for that. (Felix Sale)
(Self - 2017)
Score: 50