Track-by-Track review of Blame Yourself by Decipher:
Prelude
Lulls the listener into a false sense of security offering a dream-like fantasy of music but with the snarliest of vocal attached to it, it suddenly pulls you kicking and screaming from the warmth of your slumbers with startling anticipation.
Shadows
Possessing very sophisticated music and eye opening lyrics, though as the vocals emerge again they take on a very off-kilter edge that isn’t blending as well as it did with the music from the beginning and now it is not pleasurable anymore!
Without You
The vocals although ‘screamo’ really fit into the musical rhythm with ease. Added to the melee are some brutal beats that make the track riveting as it expands, sending tingles of pleasure down your spine and so different from the mish mash of the previous track.
What strength I have
Is a rambunctious affair of out of key vocals that grate somewhat on the senses and do not nestle into the ears very well, still the music does possess very strong rhythms, while the vocals just seem possessed by a Demon.?
Complacent
Holds some amazing rhythmic slabs of sonic enterprise but over shadowed with a demonic vocal regime that taints it somewhat.
Blame Yourself
Again containing some superb musical patterns and rich textures with snarling vocals that are punishing to the ears but will make you grimace and reach for the volume button but only to take the edge off.
This has been rather a painful experience which is a shame because the diversity of the band musically knows no bounds and offers amazing potential. The textures are welcoming, sophisticated and unyielding, going from complex to riveting and establishes itself from the off, however the unruly off-kilter ‘screamo’ vocal spoils things on occasions and will no doubt have you reaching for the skip button in order to relieve your ears of further torture, which is a real shame as maybe with low guttural growls this could be something monumental. The initial spark from The Prelude is very uplifting and mature but thinking it could lose the vocals altogether so the listener can enjoy what the band has to offer without grimace.
On slim occasions Decipher do tick the boxes as on ‘Without You’ which is a superb track even with screamo vocals, but when sung in key can make all the difference! However the rest of the tracks leave a lot to be desired.
Self-released on September 30th.
