|
I
came to The Noble Search with full expectations
of getting my head bashed in via some muscle-headed
hardcore. But what I got was so much more. This has
hardcore alright. Or it has plenty of hardcore in it,
but there is not only punch and kick at work here. There
are plenty of brains and jagged curves. Intelligent
design, if you will. There are even a few breakdowns and
yet, Portugal’s The Firstborn are in a way the thinking
man’s hardcore combo, the intelligent metalhead’s death
fest and the prog fan’s jeez.
I’d venture
to tag ‘em post hardcore but that term has come to mean
something else. Not stuff as brutish as what this European group
is doing, which is relentlessly violent, but at the very least,
as well though-out. And what a technique this band has. The
Firstborn implode and explode, and somehow, while their sound
shoots off debris in all direction, it retains cool control.
The
Firstborn are one of the most musically fluent bands I’ve had
the pleasure of listening to in a while. While their sound is
grandly informed by the quirky and technical inflexions of
progressive rock, it also seems to fatten itself through the
obscene delivery of straight up technical death metal. It’s a
great balance this band reaches. One that is hard to pinpoint,
let alone target.
More
interesting is The Firstborn’s recurrent Buddhist themes, which
plague this record via sitar, artwork and a few melodies. And
then somehow, The Firstborn don’t come off sounding like a bunch
of cheesy, opportunistic and pretentious bloated assholes.
The Noble
Search
– the band’s fourth full-length – is not only an extreme
musician’s wet dream but it also displays some the best
characteristics of quality metal bands. Thus band's aggressiveness is
granted but it pushes forward with intelligent intent and impeccable arrangements
that are laid down in front of us. Like I said, The Firstborn
are bound to appeal to the technical death metal fan, but also the prog
rock fan and the hardcore meathead. Mighty impressive.
Official Site
MySpace
Read
The Firstborn review here... |
