genres: atmospheric deathcore
Even six years later, this 2015 release remains one of the more unique releases in the broader -core scene. At heart, Far West Battlefront is a deathcore band. There’s not a ton of overt melody going on, the screams mostly reside on the lower guttural end of the spectrum, and there’s enough breakdowns to wear out any pit. That said, while all the deathcore staples are here, it also sounds very little like anything else in the genre. There’s an overwhelming “space-y” atmosphere going on with both the performances and the production. It’s cold and distant and makes you feel a little bit small. There’s a few cool tricks that are repeatedly used to achieve this effect. While the guitars are tuned just as low as usual, there’s much less distortion applied to them. Clean vocals make appearances in most tracks, not to provide melodic choruses breaking from the hellish chaos, but instead as short, repeated hooks that make many of the songs feel almost trance-like or timeless. Even the songwriting eschews clear sections or riffs in favor of slowly evolving consistency throughout the majority of most tracks. If you’re in the mood for something a bit different (but still plenty heavy), this criminally overlooked release is a fantastic place to start.
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