79%
The Kandidate's line-up is the first thing that stands out. A very experienced lot fronted by ex-Hatesphere vocalist Jacob Bredahl. The line-up immediately increased the expectations I had for this release, since I appreciate what Jacob has done for the music industry thus far. Can they live up to it or do they fail miserably?
The Kandidate is advertised as a thrash metal band. I don´t think this is entirely correct. Sure they have some thrash metal influences (The Haunted comes to mind), but they are more into the metallic hardcore corner. This is especially clear in the attitude they spread on this disc. A lot of aggression combined with some gang vocals gives this disc a hardcore feeling. I am a big thrash metal head myself, but I can appreciate some good aggressive hardcore, so no problems at all!
The execution of the music is what you can expect from artists this experienced. It sounds tighter than a 14 year old school girl, with an excellent timing of the use of double vocals and changes in riffs. They bring it with so much aggression that they really blow me away with the first couple of songs. Luckily they stop at just the right time with the break necking pace to keep the dynamics between the songs.
I must say that I enjoyed this album a lot. I can´t find a lot of things to pick on, perhaps originality could be a factor. If you´re looking for something different this won´t be your thing, if you're looking for some well executed aggressive metallic hardcore you can't miss this one.
