Deathwish Inc. is definitely an interesting label. Their releases span the clearly generic (Damage's Final) to the very progressive (along with Converge's own releases on the label I'll cite The Power and The Glory's Call Me Armageddon). However, their more forward thinking releases tend to fall under the same category of super abrasive, showing a lot of noise rock/crust influence, much like the label's founder's band. And while I initially thought that the new Trap Them EP, Seance Prime fell immediately into the category of "too Converge-esque," I realized my assumption of that was only because of their association with the label.
While their debut LP, Sleepwell Deconstructor, (which I still ardently love) had a LOT more grind influence, Seance Prime felt like a more thoughtfully technical record, very akin to the transformation of Converge between Jane Doe and You Fail Me. So immediately that was my conclusion for this review. But as I read some interviews with Trap Them, I began to realize there was an entirely different vibe and nuanced direction going on that I blanketed over with the very obvious comparison. Their singer cites their influences such as Entombed and a lot older metal bands - and when you listen for those elements they're definitely there. At times I hear some His Hero is Gone (or Tragedy, or Union of Uranus, or whatever other crust band you want to give credit to here), and at other times it sounds almost like Black Flag if they hadn't been around in the 80's and had gotten to hear an Integrity record or something. The point that Trap Them constantly brings up in interviews is the dichotomy and synthesis of their members' influences when they were younger: for their vocalist Ryan McKenney, punk and hardcore and for their guitarist Brian Izzi, metal. While I would have said that their initial outing probably displayed a lot more metallic tendencies (without getting into the grey area that is grind
which they definitely played
but for the sake of brevity, let's not be too analytical about this), I feel like Trap Them has reached a real synthesis of these two genres. And while it's somewhat of a banal point to be belaboring, it is the best way I can explain how they aren't just Converge 2.0 with blast beats.
Also, McKenney's lyrics are some of the most interesting and original I've read in quite some time and I feel that unless someone is waxing poetic or making very damning remarks about the current political regime their writing goes largely uncriticized. So he definitely deserves some consideration and attention. While I'm not saying that I agree with or love every line in every song, I definitely feel that his social commentary is worth more consideration than a once glance over when you are listening to the CD in your car at a stoplight.
If it isn't apparent, I am a big fan of Trap Them and just like Sleepwell Deconstructor, I will personally recommend this to anyone. While it is an EP, which to me is a faulty and unfulfilling format, I would say it's more deserving of your $10 than most LPs I've heard this year, or the year before, or ever.
