Cut.Love.Killl. sear through this disc with a breed of hard headed metalcore, speckled with suggestions of haunting melodies. Flanked by a chip on their shoulder they open firing both barrels and rarely slow down to reload keeping the listener reeling. Similar in part to Nothingface's heavier elements fused with traditional hardcore and growly sludgey metal, the groups music comes nailed in a box of anger and anguish. At most times vocally crass and guttural, the energy of the verbal assault is blistering and dense, each bandmember has their share of mic time and belt out everything from Biohazardish raps to metalcore verbal blitz's. A few times on this CD things are taken to a slower level with a restrained somber voice that walks through bruised beatdown verses before combusting into bitter coarse verses, but for the most part things are fierce and abrasive. Guitars are slightly donwtuned keeping a traditional feel and easily leading the band away from any Korn wannabe stereotypes. Instead there's a solid scratchy barrage of riffs launched that stick firmly in solid playing structure accentuated by the odd solo. Bass is tuned fairly low and scrapes underneath the tracks with sadistic swipes and clean hits. Occasional experimentation is taken advantage of on some tracks utilizing some colorful looping rhythms, but generally remains tangled in a hardcore meets metal rumble that becomes the low end chassis for the bands musical vehicle. Drums are relentless and inundated with double kick, heavy in a Pantera styled fashion, yet a bit more muddy and dissident, they jackhammer out pummeling beats sculpted into coherent patterns. The group features a healthy dose of aggravation and torment and its quite prevalent throughout the CD from start to finish. Grinding beats are churned out with solos and sludgy hardcore ideals, yet as a whole the groups music seems to lack a real punch, it's heavy and all the proper components are in place, yet the music's unchanging nature seems to become drowsy after a few tracks. Most of the shining moments are achieved when there is a shift into a more melodical part as the groups continual pained wails and pissed off aggression become so constant its hard for the listener to attain a satisfying release of emotion. Still its interesting to see a group take this direction with their own strain of sludgy metalcore, and they admirably achieve what they set out to do. But the tendency to scream out a gravel throated chorus when a more melodic voice would have made it all the more powerful, detract from what could have been a more dynamic explosion of sound. By no means is Cut.Love.Kill. a run of the mill band, in fact they are quite good and lay waste to the listener with an auditory mauling on this CD, but it just seems to lack that flair or signature groove that would raise them above the handful of others attempting music similar to this, those looking for a righteous loud experience will easily enjoy this album, but those seeking a more chaotic aspect soul gripping quality might want to look elsewhere.
(3.5 / 5)