 
Alternative metal band Destrophy impressed me
with their self titled album back in 2009; the
vocals were gritty, the riffs were dirty and each
note was playing with distinction and the lyrics
we’re very memorable. 2 years on and they
have returned with their latest studio effort
“Cry Havoc” and I fear that the things
that I was impressed with and grew to love may
have been cut from production.
Opening track “Cry Havoc” rings out
with a promising riff before the vocals kick in
and it’s hard to believe that they have
the same singer as they had on previous albums
because the gritty edge has vanished; they seemed
to have toned back on the metal approach and made
it a bit softer, seems like a sell out move. The
second track “We Are Alive” disappoints
me even more for the same reasons as the first
track but when I heard a synth fill near the beginning
I cringed.
The riff on “Seven Nights” puts the
final nail in the coffin for me, there’s
absolutely no chance you’d hear that kind
of clean riff on the “Destrophy” album
the transformation is absolutely heart-wrenching
and the vocal change is horrific. Don’t
even get me started on the song “Still Bleeding”
because that could not be any further from their
original style if they tried.
The only way the vocals from the 2 albums link
together are in the song from the last album “The
Way of Your World” because the vocals on
that song sound like the ones displayed on this
album except the execution is perfect on that
song as its extremely catchy and memorable. The
majority of this album is not.
Some songs have moderate hope of being remembered
like “Closer” because it’s a
thick song with a catchy chorus and the guitar
work is a considerable amount heavier than some
of the rubbish they’ve thrown on this album.
I suppose “It End’s Tonight”
is a pretty good song too, same reasons as “Closer”
it’s actually a decent heavy song and the
vocals aren’t as bad on it.
That really is all I want to say about it to be
honest with you; one of the biggest let downs
of the year from a band I had hoped for big things
but it seems that it’s all gone down the
drain now and I need to take interest in other
bands.
2/5
Review by James Webb
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