The Kandidate – Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death [non-US site]
Released: February 7th, 2012
Label: Napalm Records
In regards to music, I can be a picky bastard. OK, not just with music. I am a picky bastard period. Listening to as much music as I do, I find myself getting bored easily with much of what’s out there. Every few albums though, there is one that just grabs you by the balls and makes you take notice. This time around, the ball smashing is from The Kandidate’s latest effort “Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death“.
I’m a sucker for Industrial Metal and Noise Metal/Rock. However what seems to be grabbing me a lot more these days is Thrashy Death Metal. “Regular” Death Metal gets a bit repetitive and boring for my ears. There’s something about Thrash that I always lock onto. The Kandidate deliver Thrash goodness in spades with “Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death“.
The Danish outfit was new to me, with “Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death” being only their second release. They mix things up well, blurring the line between death, thrash and hardcore metal. It is fast. It is loud. It is aggressive. The guitars chug, the drums pound and Jacob Bredahl delivers melodic grunts and screams that force you to listen. The whole vibe of “Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death” is reminiscent of bands like Entombed (“Same Difference” era) or Dead Horse.
The songs are short with most of them clocking in at under three minutes. Per track, they are fine in length. It would have been great to have more of them though. Tracks like “Beyond The Mind, Sleep You’ll Find” hook you in with catchy riffs and chugging guitars. “Standing On The Cliffs Of Madness” keeps up a chaotic pace with crunchy lead guitars and some blistering drum work. Many of the songs can be described that way actually, but the album never gets boring or repetitive. Jacob Bredahl (ex-Hatesphere) on vocals also never does the “cookie monster” vocal thing. His style is aggressive and harsh, but you can understand what he is singing.
Straight up and simply put, I really dig this album. The night I got it I must have listened to it three or four times. It’s fast, heavy, catchy, aggressive and relentless. If you are a fan of hardcore and thrash death metal, definitely pick up The Kandidate “Facing the imminent Prospect of Death“. Just try not to kill anyone while moshing to it.