Don't be fooled by the opening symphonic "Intro" to Invasive Species, the latest release from Canadian act DistortHead. Brutal death-core is actually their main style of choice, though they lean more towards hardcore than actual death metal to be honest. Huge, booming guitar riffs permeate this album, along with sledgehammer rhythms, cracking breakdowns, and an assorted mix of bellows, screams, shouts, growls, and grunts. The machine gun riffing on tunes like "Jack is Always Smiling" and the pummeling title track are quite effective, and "Erupting Skies" sees hardcore styled shouts and death metal grunts collide over layers of melodic yet brutal guitar riffs and pounding rhythms. "Skyzo" might just be the most dramatic tune on the album, with some memorable, scorching guitar work layered over crushing breakdowns. In the end, Invasive Species certainly isn't going to change the face of extreme music, but DistortHead have certainly put together a powerful, intense, and brutal album here that might be lacking on originality but makes up for that with plenty of passion and expert musicianship.
Track Listing
1.
Intro
2.
Invasive Species
3.
Ode To The Sun
4.
Jack Is Always Smiling
5.
After Patriotic March
6.
Erupting Skies
7.
Skyzo
8.
Cognitive Dissonance
9.
Distorted Reality