Cassius I'am Jim Jones Review
by Billy Gamble
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It's hard to pin point metal genres these days. Most bands will simply say metal but that is far too vague. Cassius from Richmond, VA are a Remembering Never clone combined with the sounds of Death metal and the short occasional outburst of technical math riffs. The album starts off with an Isis-y intro called "Semitone" to then unveil a heavy deathcore punch that transitions to the Remembering Never sound but with vocals that conjure reminders of Demon Hunter and old Cannibal Corpse. After about six tracks, the majority of the songs sound the same---hardcore.
Myke Terry (vox) shows a variety in his deliverance. He goes from a Derek Green Sepultura-n growl to a hardcore yell, especially in tracks like "Home". At first Ben Diller and Nick Smigielski (guitars) do nothing but repetitive hardcore breaks. The surprise starts halfway through with the Isis-ish "Fight of the Failure" that is technical and mathy yet dissonant and trance-inducing. In most of the songs there are hardcore breakdowns that last for far too long. The last song "Nickel and Dime" stands out for the listener. The guitars speed up with a harmonizing almost-solo. The guitar work is moderately impressive and the neat little math breaks are decent.
Cassius' I'am Jim Jones is clichι mainstream hardcore. Nothing ground breaking or new that hasn't been done before. They do have the occasional experimental calm song like "Funeral March" and "Harmony" which are slow and relaxing instrumentals but fall short. It's all been done before. Cassius tries to combine hardcore with sophisticated technicality but can't really hit the nail on the head.
1. Semitone
2. Homeauxthing
3. Skingraft
4. Home
5. Fight of the Failure
6. Tale of the Leper
7. Deadbeat
8. Elate and Subtract
9. Funeral March
10. Belle Gunness
11. Harmony
12. Nickel and Dime
CD Info and Links
Cassius I'am Jim Jones Label:Victory
Rating:3.5
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