This review is an open letter to all the hardcore bands from the United States, consider yourselves called out. The next big thing in hardcore does not come to from the land of the free. Instead, Human Demise calls The Netherlands home. But these are not the quaint Dutch folk you see portrayed in cartoons. These guys are pissed off, full of rage, and ready to lay waste to every villa in their path.
Whitechapel Demise begins with the track "Chambers of Hell" and it is immediately evident that the band borrows heavily from the mid-90's metallic hardcore scene. While the band delivers blistering riffs, moving basslines, and punishing drumming, vocalist Maurice hits you with an anger-filled vocal attack similar to Human Furnace. And it's not just the vocals; the music is just as venomous and hard-hitting as Ringworm. Lyrically, the songs here are quite bleak, frequently alluding to the topic of death. And since the band claims to be part of the Holy Terror movement, you have a bit of that subject matter intertwined in the lyrics as well.
Things continue on with "Only Worth in Bits" and "You Sicken Me," the first contains some excellent duel-guitar action and a solid breakdown (Sworn Enemy's Negative Outlook comes to mind) while the latter of is quite punk-ish in structure. Human Demise tries something a little different on "Mary Anne's Verse." It's an instrumental piece laced with backwards spoken word and swirling noise over a building sequence of guitars. It definitely fits the whole gloomy vibe of this album and would be a perfect first song live as it leads into "Whitechapel Demise" perfectly. Things conclude with "Like Insects," which is a rager of a song, especially with the breakdown/sing-along at its end.
Normally I tire of an album after listening to it nonstop for several months. However, after countless listens to these songs they still sound as fresh and as the first time I heard them. This is no doubt one of my favorite albums of 2006 (it was released in late December of last year in Europe, but I'm calling it a 2006 release). And thus I continue to rant and rave about it to all my friends. Head my words and seek out a copy of Whitechapel Demise.
