REVIEW: Aversions Crown - Hell Will Come for Us All [2020]
Artist: Aversions Crown
Album: Hell Will Come for Us All
The yearstarted with a pandemic, a stock market crash and economic recession, evolvedinto the nationwide-turned-global manifestation of decades of American racial strifeand stands to morph into several possible rumored threats: a second wave of theaforementioned pandemic, enormous volcanic eruption, a solar flare, maybealiens? While it sounds like a fiction movie or a prophecy for the year 2112,it’s actually now, the year 2020. Wild, huh? To top it off, Australiandeathcore outfit Aversions Crown might have called it all with the earlyannouncement of their latest full length record Hell Will Come for Us All.While that might be an exaggeration, much of the band’s much-anticipated recordtouches on lyrical themes incredibly relevant to the increasing turmoilabundant in our country and the world at large—a bold change in topic from theirprevious lyrical focuses on the extraterrestrial. Hell Will Come for Us Allis a marked departure from the Aversions Crown we knew, abandoning many of theband’s overtly technical roots have been replaced with a more straightforwardinfusion of raw, hard-hitting metallic influence, shifting gears to fall morein line with current deathcore giants Thy Art is Murder and Fit For an Autopsy.How well does this work out for them, however? The answer isn’t necessarily asstraightforward as “good” or “bad” as we take a closer look into the near-hourof immolating aggression that defines Aversions Crown’s 2020 release.
AversionsCrown has long been a band on the forefront of the (admittedly mildly cringy) “aliencore”phenomenon that took root in the technical corner of deathcore’s octagon. HellWill Come for Us All—while still apt at showcasing the band’s technicalprowess—is far from a tech-deathcore record of the sort that one has come toexpect from the Aussie quartet. Percussionist Jaden Mason still dominates withlightning-like hands and flashy footwork on many tracks, putting them in sharpcontrast to some of the record’s more atmospheric cuts. “Born in the Gutter”and “Caught in the System” are two excellent examples of the former, with Mason’sfeet and hands roaring at what feels like a hundred miles per hour (thekilometers per hour conversion is on you). Meanwhile, somber record opener “TheSoil,” as well as “Hymn of Annihilation” showcase the band’s more atmosphericelement with Mason’s strong, punctual drumming setting a strong scaffold forguitarists Chris Cougan and Mick Jeffery. Cougan and Jeffery take AversionsCrown’s nigh-renowned furious fretwork and change things up a little bit,stepping back from lightning-fast licks and moving to heavy, thick grooves thatsegue into harsh, metallic riffs and murderously heavy breakdowns hither andto. “Born in the Gutter” is an excellent example of this, as is “Sorrow Never Sleeps”and the album’s titular track. Cougan and Jeffery add depth and dynamic toAversions Crown, making songs less about hypertechnical leads over breakneckdrumming and more about catchy, riff-infused deathcore. “The Soil,” however,sees Averisons Crown experimenting with atmosphere and a sense of smothering,dense gloom. While this opens the band’s range of appeal, it also feelssomewhat canned, as the band’s momentum doesn’t really seem to pick upspeed until “Caught in the System.” While the shift in the band’s overall soundisn’t inherently bad, it introduces monotony into Aversions Crown’s dynamic forthe first time ever, forcing much of the album to blur together with only keymemorable segments in several songs instead of overall memorable songs.
Anothernotable element to Aversions Crown’s Hell Will Come for Us All is theappearance of newcomer Tyler Miller behind the microphone. Miller brings abouta different side to the band’s vocal elements—clear, enunciated vocals with ametric ton of beef to back up a fairly diverse range of tones. From the get-goof “The Soil,” Miller’s bold mid-range screams sucker punch the listener’s eardrumsrelentlessly. “Caught In the System” highlights Miller’s wordplay and patterningwhere “Hymn of Annihilation” and “Sorrow Never Sleeps” see Miller’s rangegetting a relative workout. Overall, Miller’s voice plays to the shift in theband’s overall dynamic, giving punch to the bold leads and punchy, catchy breakdowns.However, where Miller’s pronunciation is clear, his range feels throttled bythe more moderate display of deathcore that serves as his canvas. While thisstrengthens the band’s sound, it leaves the listener in want of more variety.
So, what wehave on Hell Will Come for Us All is a new Aversions Crown—an AversionsCrown that, in all honesty, could well have been mistaken for Fit for anAutopsy if the listener was blindfolded. While it’s a solid, well-composed pieceof deathcore, it doesn’t feel tremendously unique. What’s more is that while itdoes do an excellent job of branching out lyrically, discussing pertinenttopics in today’s world and socioeconomic sphere, it feels somewhatdisingenuous compared to how compelling and engaging the band’s discography hasbeen to this point. In short, the record isn’t bad, but their dynamic needssome extra attention to become something that stands strong on it’s own and feelstruly unique. This leaves Aversions Crown at a fork in road—to continue honingand sharpening their newfound sound to make it truly stand out, or to revert towhat has worked well for them for practically a decade—one can only hope adecision is made and acted upon before Hell comes for Aversions Crown.
7/10
For Fans Of: Thy Art is Murder, I, Valiance, Fit For anAutopsy, Whitechapel, Slaughter to Prevail
By: Connor Welsh