“Metalcore” might be the term to best describe the overall Wristmeetrazor sound but the more and more we listen to third outing Degeneration, the more and more we hear the chaotic initial end of Nu-Metal that saw lots of outfits combining seemingly everything to see what stuck and what didn’t. On Degeneration, everything’s sticking.
“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead” is vicious and vital with Nate Billmyer and Tyler Norris’ guitars shredding alongside Bryan Prosser’s blistering drumming for this Nu-Metal on adrenaline opening behemoth that’s topped off by vocalist Justin Fornof channeling Bile mastermind Kryztoff. “Static Reckoning” rises with the first round of clean vocals on a track that gives fans some proper Metalcore but more of a hybrid Metal sound with elements of Thrash nicely infused within for a Killswitch Engage meets Chimaira vibe with Userelaine’s bass really bringing some seismic rumble throughout.
“Trepanation” is a fun romp for a song named after the medical procedure of drilling a hole in a head with Machine Head-like guitar squeals and Fornof’s voice doing all the things, “Xeroxed Reflection” has some killer verses, and “DogdayGod” is just NASTY with some pulsating programming interspersed with the Norris/Billmyer shredfest.
Elsewhere on Degeneration, “Culled and Forgotten” is less than a minute reminder of all the things that make Wristmeetrazor so great with “Synthetic-51n” adding more range for an atmospheric ditty that still retains the visceral vitality as Prosser primally pummels away. “No Ceremony” squeezes out some gargantuan grooves along with its squealing shreds, “Negative Fix” is just crushing from start to finish, and “Greatest Love Offering in the History of the World” is practically two different songs in one with the way it splits part way through to the point that we had to check that we were still listening to the same record.
Degeneration drops through Prosthetic Records on March 29th. Pre-orders are live now and can be found by heading here or by clicking on the stream below. For more from Wristmeetrazor, including the space where you can find the places to see the band on tour soon like at Rockwood Music Hall in Boston on April 21st, follow them across the information superhighway when you click here, here, or here.