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The Showdown - A Chorus of Obliteration

 

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RELEASED:November 16th, 2004
PRODUCER: Bruce Fitzhugh
LABEL: Mono Vs. Stereo
BAND:
Dave Bunton

Josh Childers

AJ Barrett

Travis Bailey

Eric Koruschak

+
Guitar acrobatics, some great metal riffs, southern rock attitude
-
Slower numbers drag, uneven song quality, thin mix

TRACKS:

1. A Monument Encased In Ash 2. Hell Can't Stop Us Now 3. Epic: A Chorus Of Obliteration 4. From The Mouth Of Gath Comes Terror 5. A Proclamation Of Evil's Fate 6. Dagon Undone (The Reckoning)
7. Iscariot 8. Dolor Per Proelium (Your Name Is Defeat)
9. Deus Invictus (Your Name Is Victory) 10. Laid To Rest

OVERVIEW

You might say that The Showdown had quite the hole dug for themselves before they even released this record – not only are they yet another band attempting to crowd itself into today’s modern metal scene with a mix of melodeath, thrash, and classic metal, but they’re on a label primarily known for bands like Out of Eden and Relient K (MvS is a Gotee records imprint) AND with an album title like “A Chorus of Obliteration”, this disc had better deliver some seriously face-melting metal.  Toss in the fact that the Showdown is an explicitly Christian band and that they hail from just outside Nashville, TN (not exactly a metal haven) and the Showdown finds themselves with considerable odds to beat, not to mention a lot of hype to live up to.  And for the most part, they’re more than up to the challenge.

            Part of what makes this record so enjoyable is it’s refreshing lack of hardcore inclinations – in place of the usual liberal dose of hardcore most bands seem to be embracing, the Showdown infuses a southern-rock twist on modern heavy metal, which gives them a somewhat unique edge in an undeniably crowded genre.  Think Pantera, In Flames, Judas Priest, and .38 Special smashed together and forced to collaborate, and you’ve got an idea of what to expect here.                                    

SONGS

With an ominous, authoritative snare count, dueling guitar harmonies, and rapid-fire KK Downing-like leads all over the place (think Painkiller-era Priest), “A Moment Encased In Ash” rips from beginning to end and flows right into the infectious, almost groovy “Hell Can’t Stop Us Now”, which features a great vocal performance as well as some great riffs.  “Epic: A Chorus of Obliteration” puts the Showdown’s Pantera influence right on it’s sleeve (until the chorus, anyway), and “From the Mouth of Gath Comes Terror” follows in much of the same vein, except with a significantly higher bit of death metal brutality, whammy bar dives galore, and a downright filthy breakdown.  “A Proclamation of Evil’s Fate” finds the band relying more on melodic leads and intricate riffing rather than pummeling rhythms, and it works in a big way to show the multi-dimensionality of the band.  “Dagone Undone” is one of my least favorite tracks on here, as the death vocals are a bit sub-par and the song seems to drag overall, but up next is the bombastic lead-driven “Iscariot”, another tasty cut of harmonized Maiden-style riffs and squeal-laced verse riffage.  Excellent.  The band switches back to their death metal side for “Dolor Per Proelium”, although at a mere 2:32, it’s just short enough to save itself from getting boring, but “Deus Invictus” brings back a ferocious thrash assault that recalls bands like Testament and Death Angel, and it’s glorious to this reviewer’s ears.  Great chorus too.  I’ve heard a lot of criticism of the mostly acoustic closer “Laid to Rest”, but aside from the fact that the full band seems to come crashing in a bit suddenly at about the 2:30 mark, I say it’s a great, heartfelt ballad that wraps up the storyline of this album in fine fashion.

CONCLUSION

While this is a highly enjoyable record, there are a couple freshman-release flaws that “Chorus” suffers from, the biggest of which is simply that The Showdown could benefit tremendously from learning how to integrate their influences into their music with a bit more subtlety – as you can see, they seem to have a few songs that are mostly redneck metal, a few that border on death metal, a couple thrashier ones, and so on.  Second of all, the thin production might be paying homage to the production on ye olde 80’s thrash records, but it works against the band here, as some of the heavier riffs and drumming are betrayed by a treble-heavy mix.  Overall, however, this is a darn solid metal album and (for the record) much better than their 2007 follow-up.

Review by Matt Rewinski