Massacra - Final Holocaust
Review: Taking metal into new realms of speed and structure Massacra contributed this opus of speeding microsymphonies of information at high speed with an inspired sense of freedom in nihilism and creativity, making Slayer-styled death metal into whipping destructive metal emphasizing tone more than bass and correspondingly indulging further in structuralism using melodic stylings inspired by classical and baroque music.
With a flutterstrum creating fluid tremelo power chord melodies enwrapping one another through battering interruptions that drive structural change in tempo, this band indulge their proclivity for longer song development and tighter thematic development through a plentiful hand of riffs and textural variants used in sequence to maintain a narrative manipulation of mood. Although often as a result top-heavy with riffs, this release maintains continuity through diligent orchestration of suspended rhythm and melodic intelligibility across a wide range of riffing, creating a songwriting style that is comparable to the faster death metal bands from South America.
Racing drums follow linear patterns with internal crossover and direct focus on pockets of rhythm folding into matrices of rhythmic suspension, shifting with discipline between pattern and pace to support needs of guitars changing backdrop of coalescing melodic shape, while seared linear vocals emphasize dominant rhythm in the style of anthemic speed metal/thrash crossover, without the self-evident symmetry to phrasing and the tendency to ram emphatic beats through the floor with harmonic emphasis. Degenerate in its use of simplicity, this band over time assemble complexity of enduring depth and joy in navigation.
Mesmerizing in constant resonance of strumming speed and belligerent ability to change narrative significance and refocus it around an internal data point at will, the music of Massacra here flowers in full ambition and, while not as proficient in songwriting technique or instrumentalism as their second work, inspires adulation and imitation consistently for its raw sense of potential in chaos and animalistic nihilism.