STARKWEATHER

One thing I hate about Metal and in general, in the Extreme Metal scene, is this bizarre obsession that many bands have with wanting to be as heavy as possible, Torso[%*!#], Aborted, Waking The Cadaver and the other various Slam Death Metal bands, Brutal Death Metal or whatever, rather than heavy death metal black metal sjsasjj, which ignore any kind of way of putting these elements together in a way that sounds interesting and which generally fall into pure cheesiness and embarrassment, why? because they don't want to make music, they just want to be heavy, they don't want to be creative, they don't want to go further, they don't want to have an identity, they just want to be heavy, and by heavy I mean music with guttural vocals that sound like a pig with diarrhea screaming, super distorted riffs that are super repetitive (in a bad way) and equally repetitive drum blast beats.

That said, This Sheltering Night is an album that goes against this cancerous tendency, being extremely heavy, but in no way gets stuck in that idea, and its concepts and execution are brilliantly executed.

This Sheltering Night is the fourth album by Starkweather, a band that was quite a pioneer in the genre hated and loved by many, Metalcore, from the beginning, Starkweather had a sound that was heavy, but there was something there, it had a certain complexity, abstraction and even Prog, which gives a very unique identity to their sound, but which was too initial, they returned in 2005 after a long hiatus with Croatoan, a great album that finally made these elements shine more, but still, it could be better... and in 2010, they finally released what, for me, is their Magnum Opus and one of the best albums that has ever emerged both inside and outside of Metalcore, This Sheltering Night, the album I will analyze.

Starkweather is a band that knows exactly how to be heavy on this album, without being cheesy, in fact, the atmosphere is fantastic, claustrophobic, suffocating, with all the songs on this album being rich in content, they have never sounded as precise as they do here, since From the introductory and intense Epiphany, the multifaceted Broken From Inside and the soulful One Among Vermin, all members shine, Harry Rosa on drums, Todd Forkin as guitarist, Vince Rosa as bassist and Rennie Resmini as vocalist, they all contribute equally to the album , none of them end up being less capable, one criticism I have about Croatoan is that even though Liam Wilson is an incredible bassist (like, man, he's the bassist for The Dillinger Escape Plan) he isn't capable of shining, Croatoan is too strident, which is good and has identity, but listening to Liam's bass there are few moments where it's really audible, a shame, however, This Sheltering Night fixes that, the mix is ​​no longer very strident, with the new bassist, Vince Rosa, being great, while Todd and Rennie are the ones who give the album anguish, Vince is the one who creates the melody, the songs are still very heavy, but they end up having a perfect balance between Vince's melodic bass and the heavy riffs of Todd, what about Rennie Resmini vocals? he still a unique vocalist, and who gives the band the most identity, I really like his style, I love them, they are not pretty or pleasant, but full of pain and suffering, even in their softest moments, but without using those saturated gutturals of extreme bands, this is Starkweather most exciting album for me, it is harrowing, but it is also very intelligent in how to execute this anguish, with many changes in mood, rhythm, even sounding hopeful and epic.

The album flows very well, even the interludes, they don't sound dragged and are just there to fill in, but rather contributing to the oppressive atmosphere, it's almost as if the album was conceptual, with a story in each song connecting, it's very thought-provoking. , this is due to them not having a version and chorus structure, but rather a more cinematic one, something characteristic of them, I'm a big fan of the lyrical content, it's abstract, but it makes sense, I'm mainly disturbed by Broken From Inside, which I will not detail.

This Sheltering Night is an album that shows the evolution of Starkweather, which takes you to a distorted, broken, and devastated universe in its 11 songs, never sounding dragged or even falling into the cheesiness of "LOOK HOW WE ARE HEAVY" like Croatoan, progressive, oppressive, but exciting, unique, creative and thought-provoking, This Sheltering Night is the peak of Starkweather, it is one of the best albums I have ever heard, both inside and outside of Metalcore, this is not just a sonically heavy album, it is substantially heavy, in which its concepts and execution are so above average, which makes it a masterpiece, I highly recommend this album, of course, Starkweather's devastating universe is not for everyone, but if you have an open mind and are prepared, You will enjoy a fantastic, somewhat underrated album, which is, without a shadow of a doubt, their best.

Croatoan is the third album by the band Starkweather, one of the pioneering bands of Metalcore, after their hiatus since 1997 with Into The Wire, my first contact with this band was with the EP ''Nightmare Memory'' from 2013 and absolutely loved it. incredibly heavy and diverse sound, and after listening to the entire album, I say without hesitation without a shadow of a doubt, Croatoan is one of the best things in the genre, one thing I like about it Starkweather and what remains here is how insanely heavy the songs are, but they hardly end up being cheesy, which ends up happening a lot in bands that want to be as extreme as possible, the mix is ​​strident and with a lot of identity, the riffs are memorable from Todd Forkin, and Harry Rosa drum are simply mind-blowing, and the songs are not only heavy and catchy, but also feature diversity and very progressive aspects, Silken Garotte has a very tribal session, Taming Leeches With Fire and the constant change of riffs together with a cool Liam Wilson versatile bass and so on. The way these elements fit together and how powerful the composition is is unique.

and what can we say about this album without mentioning Rennie Resmini vocals? I love them, not because they are beautiful, in fact, it's exactly the opposite, it's raw, strange and Rennie sings with a lot of pain and despair even In the softer sessions, Rennie is the one who gives Starkweather more of an identity and it's difficult to think of a job by the band without him, they are vocals above all, organic and unique and that fit perfectly into the painful atmosphere that the band wants to convey, however, Croatoan doesn't completely work, sometimes it falls into falling into the trap of cheesy for wanting to have a heavy sound, Taming Leeches With Fire is fantastic, but the part where Rennie repeats the name of the song, it doesn't sound very good compared to half of it.

Silken Garotte sometimes sounds pretentious and, in general, it is a material that has moments that are not do justice to the highest points, but in no way end up detracting from the experience and still sound cool, but overall, Croatoan is incredible, a must have for anyone who likes extreme metal, extreme prog metal, metalcore and experimental music, Starkweather's cruel universe is not for everyone, but for those willing to give By chance, you might come across one of the densest and heaviest albums to ever emerge from Metalcore. scene.

9/10

(Note: I recommend that moderators change incorrect information that is -The bassist on this album is Liam Wilson, not Vince Rosa -The order of the songs is wrong)

there is a type of band that releases material and then rarely appears, that hides in the shadows with an unpredictable nature and then releases other material and disappears again, Starkweather is that type of band.

Nightmare Memory is my first contact with this band and this little 21 minute EP is very solid, they are a Metalcore band, but not the kind of Metalcore you expect, and the first song on the EP ''Armed Memory'' already hits with full force, atonal and heavy metalcore riffs with a distorted virtuosity and along with that, from Harry Rosa versatile drum and Todd Forkin crazy guitar to Rennie Resmini vocals, I particularly like them, they are quite original and he sings with agonizing and frightening way that contributes greatly to the overall atmosphere of this EP.

''Armed Memory'' is a very solid track that surprised me because of how overwhelming and strident it is, everything is executed very well, and then comes my favorite track and the last one ''Nightmare Factory'' is a spectacle and further elevates its predecessor, an abstract cinematic flow of insanely raucous metalcore riffs, a tortured and distorted atmosphere, with a very interesting and frightening progression, it genuinely feels like a nightmare, and it ends in a way that wow...if It equates to El Mundo Frio from Corrupted for me in terms of atmosphere.

Starkweather is characterized by extreme metalcore riffs and cinematic structure with avant-garde and prog touches and abstract lyrics, and on Nightmare Memory they do this masterfully, it's not an EP that I could call a masterpiece, but the way they play is so unique and interesting and executed so well that I highly recommend it, however, I only recommend this EP to those who can or like listening to heavy music, what's here may not please many and Starkweather is certainly inaccessible, but overall, an excellent EP.

8.8/10