REVIEW: Villisca – The Absolutionist [SINGLE/2014]

Artist: Villisca

The Absolutionist – Single

Some people pursue things with every ounce of conviction their body has to offer. True, there are moments in every person’s life where they are compelled to fight tooth and nail—to channel their entire soul—towards a goal or achievement, but then, there are others. These others chase every goal and go about every aspect of their life with the utmost zeal and conviction. This is true of Villisca, a young and promising deathcore band out of Indiana—and the proof is in their aptly titled single “The Absolutionist.” Creatively and crushingly loaded with nothing but the heaviest and most intense elements of the genre, “The Absolutionist” is an absolutely comprehensive display of deathcore prowess—from lacerating percussion to blistering, skin-splitting shred—and Villisca aren’t afraid to unleash it upon the listener.

Simply put, every aspect of “The Absolutionist” is as violent and aggressive as humanly possible. Villisca do nothing “half-way,” as every chug, snare hit, screech and scream is done to absolute full-measure. Thick, meaty down-tuned bass and guitar roars overtop of earth-quaking percussion and splashy, throat-exposing cymbal work. These low, heavy tones create grimey and immersive grooves that wind perniciously into the listener’s ears and invade their brain, softening spots on the listener’s skull to be split wide open by the other outstanding attack in “The Absolutionist”’s arsenal: shred, and tons of it. Technicality rules side-by-side with terror in Villisca’s latest single, spilling blood like water with precise flares of intense and jarring instrumentation that are written and played in such a manner to prove that these Indiana-based annihilators aren’t just proficient at playing their instruments, but they are dynamic songwriters as well—capable of using tried-and-true deathcore elements to keep the listener completely engaged.

In a word, Villisca are steadfast—they use insanely heavy and technical instrumentation to assault the listener with a full-on attack that doesn’t take any half-measures in holding the listener hostage and depriving them of their sanity.

5/5

For Fans Of: Whitechapel, Thy Devourer, Thy Art is Murder, I Declare War

By: Connor Welsh