Holy shit. Fecal matter of God. Jesus-blessed dung. Crap of the (supposed) entity who (supposedly) delivered Moses the Ten Commandments.
Say whichever you want; this album goes hard. And if I had to describe A Night In Texas’ musical might with one musical relation, I’d pinpoint them as a mature version of Suicide Silence. Their new album, Global Slaughter, stands as testament to such impressive prowess- a much-needed and starved quality within deathcore that can now be satiated thoroughly. At baseline, Global Slaughter sports an emblem of tight-knit technicality from start to finish. There’s some seriously steadfast and quick percussive elements, ripping riffage, and a vicious tag-team of high and low vocals. What’s more- each element is so clean and spotless that David Drainman’s shiny, bald head would be proud. The musicians are so, so obviously talented- and their ability to showcase each other without overtaking one another is utterly monumental.
Here’s what stood out the most: first off, the vocals- to which I can say nothing mroe other than an excitable, “Hell yeah!” There’s piercing high-screams that are met and complemented by brooding lows and growls to create and earth-quaking aural experience that’s utterly terrifying. What makes them so extraordinary is how well rehearsed they sound. True, this should be a given, but a discouraigngly large part of metal canon features lousy screams and growls that sound like they were made in a day in a suburban basement. The unfortunate standard is a vocal quality that is amateur at best. However A Night In Texas’ sole vocalist and extremely talented powerhouse, Ethan Lucas, simply does not f*ck around- an action and statement that hold true down to the wire when it comes to the vocal delivery and production on Global Slaughter. The differing vocals play together so nicely, and it’s a pretty unique usage of voice—I first heard and came to love this element with the hardcore band Trash Talk (try their single “Awake,” for starters).
I love the drilling of the floor tom, too. That and the vocals are my two favorite things. (I’m probably biased as a drummer, too, because I know how insanely difficult it is to get a good double pedal going.) And I really have to say that the audio engineering team really knew how to balance the sounds of the vocals and instrumentation; the drums are a perfect beacon in the madness.
Nearly all the songs share the above traits I mentioned. “Global Slaughter” is the best song off the album, hands down—compared to the rest of the album, this song will be making the biggest dent in my iPod plays. It’s no coincidence that Global Slaughter’s name comes from the song; I guess there really is a method to the madness. I’ll admit though that there’s one song—the only song—that I disliked, and it’s “Mors Ludicrum;” if you like creepy and possessed shit, try it—it’s relatively short. I appreciate the song’s purpose though, which I assume is to give you an interlude within the album; even though I’m not a fan, the song really enhances the album’s theme and seems to tell some kind of story (this may well be a conceptual album).
With all the pros, let me get into the cons, albeit few, for this album. Overall, there are two nit-picky flaws that stand out most to me. First off, I’ve realized that it’s hard to distinguish one song from another in the album (most of them sound very similar), but, you know, that can be okay if the overall sound is good and fitting within all songs. [Which is the the case, more or less, here.] Still, I don’t think I’ll find myself blaring the album on my iPod, day in and day out—there’s not enough variety of sounds for me to be entertained for an extended period of time. I’ll definitely welcome a surprise in shuffle though.
Second of all, I wouldn’t say that there’s a specific factor that makes the band REALLY stick out to me. I know I mentioned the talent of the band, and the vocals are fucking awesome; the problem is that there are other very talented bands. And there are other catchy bands with vocals that schtick. This is probably the most subjective thing I have to add on my part for the review, because A Night In Texas- specifically, their work in Global Slaughter– is objectively kickass.
In any case, if I were to rank Global Slaughter on a scale from 1 to 10, I would say it’s between an 8.5 and a 9; it’s like, “I headbanged hard, but I’m good, guys. My neck is still here.” Still, it’s a raging quality that will be ringing in my ears for days to come. I genuinely can’t wait to hear what A Night in Texas has next. (Ruth Xing)
For Fans Of: Thy Art Is Murder, Rings of Saturn, Aversions Crown
8.9/10
Ouch That Hertz! 