Most wouldn’t think of Kentucky as a happening music area but as evidence showed last month when AudioVein put together our 1st digital sampler solely focused on bands from Kentucky… there’s some stuff going on. With more to come.
1 band that was not on that sampler was Gods Below Us. A giant slab of southern ass kicking Rock’n’Metal. Somewhere between Drowning Pool’s catchy hard rock sensibility, A Perfect Murder’s grooving hardcore metal attitude, and the Pantera spirit (no rip off here, I promise!)
A solid slow tempo opener in “Exordium” leading into the most balls out heavy thrasher “One More Reason to Die” is basically the how-to on starting an album off correctly. But what’s that catchy ass groovy bouncy shit on “Tempus”? It’s a song to bounce heads off of each other in the pit and stomp your boots and shout out some WOOOOOOOOOO’s. And that goddamn breakdown… oh yeah.
When I received this album from bassist Ashley Shepherd, it didn’t leave my car for 3 days. Then a few days later it was in for another 2 days straight. It really is just so fucking catchy and good. I wasn’t expecting that and I’m glad it blew me away.
“What Never Was” is my favorite song on the album. It’s not a ballad. But it’s on the melodic side. What sets it apart from other songs like this on other bands albums is that it legitimately doesn’t feel like it was a “hey, let’s put a softer song on the album for the sake of doing it”. It feels very natural, and it feels like this song came from the heart. It’s as heavy as anything on the CD for a different reason. The lyrics feel real and meaningful. It’s VERY well written.
“Mouthful of Ashes” is another ass stomping groove machine. I seriously hope I can witness Gods Below Us live because there is no way songs like this wouldn’t be absolutely amazing live. 4:28 is where devastation truly begins in the swirling mass of sweaty bodies.
“Mourn the Sky” is along the lines of the above mentioned “What Never Was”, probably even more melodic. It’s also just really, really good. Josh, the vocalist, has an excellent singing voice. I prefer it over the raspy mid-range screams that dominate most of the album. This is one of those rare cases where harsh vocals aren’t covering up someone’s not so good clean singing. Whenever you guys get some new stuff written… seriously. Utilize that voice.
This was one of those very pleasant surprises of a band coming to me from outta nowhere and then providing something that people TRULY need to hear.
It might surprise the guys in Gods Below Us, but “Time, the Devourer” IS currently in my running for my top 10 list for the year.
Follow Us