http://youtu.be/sRsa2i_kif0
Review by Brady Deeprose
Release date: 28 April 2014
Back in 2009, Martyr Defiled were out tearing the UK a new one with The Black Dahlia Murder as one of the most promising new voices in the UKDM scene. 5 years later and they’re still out doing their thing, but on a whole new plane of existence. Gone are the straight Death Metal influences, MD2K14 are a hardcore-tinged deathcore mob.
No Hope No Morality is a statement from the Lincoln lads, and shows the bands progression from the transitional album In Shadows where they took their first real strides into the hardcore market. From the dissonant opening of ‘LVCIFER’ to the brash, chant-along ‘Under The Influence’, there’s something for all –core fans. It’s clear that Martyr Defiled have been influenced by their contemporaries – and now touring buddies – Thy Art Is Murder and their time as one of the shining lights in modern metal: NHNM is a far more polished opus than the bands previous work.
Stand out track, for me, is ‘No Morality’, the album closer. The breakdowns are a little tighter and more rhythmically interesting than on previous tracks and it has some of the most memorable hooks, well, some of the only memorable hooks. This is the kind of album that, for the first few listens at least, you can find yourself lost in the flow of tracks. With no clean or melodic vocals to break up the songs, they can end up sounding a little too similar but this is a standard issue for many bands that have such and aggressive approach to metal as MD do.
Bottom line, if you like your breakdowns dirty, your vocals anguished and your kick pedals worked hard: this album’s for you. You won’t find genre-bending experimentalism amidst this barrage, and nor should you expect to: Martyr Defiled have accomplished exactly what they set out to do.
7 out of 10
Track listing:
- LVCIFER
- Demons In The Mist
- Sin Eater
- 616
- No Hope
- Neverender
- Under The Influence
- The Taste Of Iron
- Of Sheep And Swine
- Deathstare
- No Morality
