With the exception of well-established household names who can still maintain an album-every-three-years-or-so release schedule, most modern artists must release material more consistently in order to stay relevant and keep up with their contemporaries, particularly in the age of streaming and the internet.
And one band utilizing their community's increasingly rabid hunger for new music is Vancouver six-piece AngelMaker, who since September have released four mini two-track EPs: Dawn, Twilight, Dusk and, most recently, Eclipse.
Comprising eight tracks in total, these four EPs are hammered and shaped by furious and destructive deathcore riffs courtesy of guitarists Colton Bennett, Matt Perrin and Johnny Ciardullo, and their chops hit a notable high point on Vengeance, from Twilight.
On the track, the trio wield extended-scale guitars to deliver an unrelenting volley of rapid-fire alternate-picked riffs, underpinned at all times by the massive-but-precise low-end provided by bassist Cole Rideout. There are also some killer atmospheric sustainer-driven solo lines delivered by Ciardullo.
Bennett, Perrin, Ciardullo and Rideout showcase the track's manic fretboard antics in this new playthrough, premiered exclusively on Guitar World.
In terms of guitars, Ciardullo plays an Aristides 080 eight-string guitar, Bennett an Ibanez Iceman seven-string and Perrin a Caparison Dellinger Prominence seven-string. Rideout picks an Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling 5 HH Stealth as his bass guitar of choice.
“Vengeance is the most collaborative AngelMaker song to date,” the band enthuse. “It took the whole group to fully realize the trajectory of the track, which was to blend the new modern deathcore sound with the old.
As they explain, the track takes inspiration from the “original godfathers” of deathcore, including As Blood Runs Black and Despised Icon.
“We wanted to pay our respects to the bands that made it possible for us to do what we do and carry their flame through the modern era of heavy music,” they say.
“This song follows a very familiar progression that most metalheads have ingrained into their musical memories but with a little Angelmaker cherry on top,” they continue.
“Chromatic breakdowns, harmonic minor tremolo runs and some hammer-on, pull-off diminished runs, the song has everything you need to make a classic deathcore track but with a pallet-cleansing neo-classic chorus progression to really fill the song with color and diversity.
“We firmly believe writing a song like Vengeance has made us better guitarists and has also proven that this subgenre can be much more than just chugs and breakdowns.”
- AngelMaker's new two-track EP Eclipse, which features new single Exit Signs, is out now.
