Release Date: January 1st, 2011Genre: Mathcore/Tech Metal
Label: Lifeforce Records
Reviewer: Karim Tarek
I don’t know what is it with me and German Mathcore these days, but here I come across War From A Harlots Mouth latest full-length album “MMX” right after I got introduced to Katatura through their 2010 hit “In Two Minds”. Nonetheless, War From A Harlots Mouth sound totally and completely different from Katatura’s down-tempo style; they are very technical, heavy, angry and most importantly experimental.
War From A Harlots Mouth are a Berlin-based German Deathcore/Mathcore/Tech Metal band that have a pretty aggressive name, two precedent full-length releases: “Teansmetropolitan” (2007) and “In Shoals” (2009), several split-releases and numerous tours all over the world in score. You can call them “one of nowadays’ Deathcore bands.”
Music on “MMX” is, in a way or another, unexpected. Also very unorthodox! I mean, that’s not what a typical Deathcore album most likely to be; some innovation from the band introduced us to an album that you can’t listen to only one time because you simply can never actually absorb all that amount of heaviness, unpredictable transitions, blast beats, soundbites and madness in one listen; you have to play the album over and over again to fully fathom the musical message that it holds. I’ve got to tell you, after my first listen, my impression about the album was mainly that it’s very vague and indefinite, at least to me. That’s when I decided to play the album over and over again and listen carefully until I get the whole big picture. I guess you know what I mean – a musical album is much like a story, a movie or an idea; you have to fully grasp it from the first place in order to eventually collect your ideas and decide what you think of it.
Stunners on “MMX” include the relentless heavy guitar riffs produced by the 8-string guitars, unpredictable transitions, bestial technicality, and my personal favorite: the crafty blast-beat lines. Bass playing as well was exceptionally amazing on “MMX”; it was like adding your favorite chocolate sauce on your favorite ice-cream bowl. Vocals were also very brutal and harsh, but still not very remarkable.
Although I’ve never been a Deathcore or Mathcore fan and never enjoyed such stuff, I didn’t feel any sense of reluctance during my several listens to “MMX”. I guess that’s because it's pretty far from what a typical Mathcore album usually sounds like – it offers something new, and that’s what I really like about the whole experience listening to “MMX” – uniqueness and innovation. If I were a Deathcore/Mathcore fan, I would have definitely rated this 9/10 or maybe more.
Anyways, “MMX” is a 32-minute vociferous journey towards the realms of madness, and it has been quite an experience to me. I don’t recommend this album to you unless you meet the following conditions:
- Angry.
- Looking for something eccentric.
- Willing to impair your sense of hearing.
Overall, War From A Harlots Mouth is a respectable band that offers some off-the-herd, unique, berserk and very complicated music that has nothing to do with the mainstream. They obviously exerted a whole lot of effort in order to execute “MMX” and have it released in the best way that could ever be. I give them a lot of kudos for the effort and uniqueness.
Oh, hey! I think I can’t hold it anymore; “MMX” makes me feel like walking down the street, punching a totally random pedestrian in the face, then break-dancing in front of him with an evil smirk or probably a trollface! Yes, it’s exactly what I felt like from second one on the album!
Highlights: Recluse MMX, Insomnia, Spineless.
For more information, visit War From A Harlots Mouth on Myspace
[Click here to pre-order "MMX" from iTunes, and receive 2 bonus tracks!]
[Click here to pre-order "MMX" from iTunes, and receive 2 bonus tracks!]
