Wednesday, July 16, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Dhampyr “Withdrawals & Candy Heavens” (acephale winter productions)


            My third installment in the Dhampyr series takes us back to cassette, after previously we visited a cassette and then compact disc.   “Withdrawals & Candy Heavens” opens up powerfully with a growl and it reminds me of metalcore.  It’s somewhere between Fall Silent, Every Time I Die and A Perfect Murder. 

            As we go through Side A, there are some horror movie screams, kind of like a Wilhelm scream (The Hollywood type, not the punk band) and even some slower, sort of stoner riffs and mumbled speaking parts.   This all does eventually bring us back (on Side A still) to some pained screams.   I remember when I got a Ferretstyle sampler once on CD- though I don’t quite remember how I got it- and I loved every band on there, especially Skycamefalling.    Side A of this cassette reminds me of why I loved that sampler so much and how nice of a fit Dhampyr would be, and here we are, what, ten plus years later.

            Side B is a faster, heavier version of Side A.  It’s distorted metal.  It reminds me of the Nine Inch Nails song “March of the Pigs” and I just people flying around on stage, crashing through instruments like a Darkest Hour set.   It also needs to be noted on this side that the drumming is just amazing.   It really is truly one of the highlights of this cassette, and that’s saying a lot because this whole cassette is a highlight reel.

            So as of right now, Dhampyr has gone three for three with me so I highly doubt I would dislike anything by this artist.   This just proves that if you happen upon one of these releases or another by Dhampyr and you enjoy it then, yes, you too must go out and- to borrow a phrase from Pokemon- collect them all.  








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