Album Review: Crown Magnetar - Everything Bleeds

Colorado's Crown Magnetar released their second album Everything Bleeds on Unique Leader Records. With the band follow up to their debut, 2021's The Codex of Flesh, the band has just gotten better with this release. With so much chugs and insane drums throughout the entire album, this record is just relentless in its intensity, heaviness and overall feel of the record. Let's see what the band delivers onto the masses with their follow up.

Opening up the album is "Nail Funeral". With that classic chuggy, almost slam death metal guitar riff by Nick Burnett, the song kicks off with that "lower and slower" attitude with this song. The drumming of Byron London is a standout performance on the record. His drums hit so hard in the mix, with double bass punishing the listener's ears with relentless speed and amazing drum playing through this song and the album. The song has hints of melodic death metal with vocalist Dan Tucker trading off deep guttural lows with matching high, gravely shrieks, reminiscent of the late Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder. With light symphonic elements in the background at the halfway mark, into the chugs and double bass, is nice and adds more atmosphere to the song, while adding intensity. The symphonic parts also accent the double bass at the end of the track.

The opening bass sound of the next track "Hex Ov Hate", into the chugging guitars into the blast beats, just gives you that "oh here we go" feel to it when the song hits. Double bass is again punching through so hard in the mix, and just hitting you over the head with its speed and fury. The song shows more of a slam death metal sound that the bad showcases more on this record. The blast beats over the simple chugs and shrieking vocals are just driving and ferocious. I love the hanging bends at the three quarters mark going into the blast beat and slower chugging. Picturing the crowd slow headbanging along with that bend live and just hitting the crowd hard when the drop hits.

With the album's title track, London's drumming is so frantic and all over the place with his speed and technicallity. The song has less chugging as the previous track, but is still heavy as all hell. Tucker's high shrieks and the matching guitars, almost harmonizing with his belting highs add unique dynamics, and a great choice musically to accentuate his vocal range. The guitar solo by Burnett is good on the song. Though short, it is a nice addition to the track. Then segueing into London's drums again cranked to eleven, hitting so hard and heavy. The song ends with a heavy breakdown with dotted guitar notes, bringing this standout track to a close.

Songs like "Unholy Neck Stab" and "The Killing Stone" continue the band's endless ferocity in the musicianship and performance. With djent style riffing showing up more in the latter half of the album, it adds more unique sections and movements to add to the band's style of deathcore. Breakdowns are prevalent throughtout the tracks and Tucker's vocals really showcase and shine on these tracks. "Only The Spine Remains", featuring Darius Tehrani of Spite, is such a joy to listen to vocally with both singers showing off their ranges and how well they gel together in the vocals. "Dead Season" continues the djent style guitars with the opening riff with pinch harmonics giving it that deathcore tinge to it. With a slower, mid-tempo feel to the song, the song definitely gives off the vibe of Meshuggah in the musicianship, riff and drum performance, but the vocals makes the song their own. Before speeding up with the drumming near the end of the song.

"Despised From Seed" shows London's drumming going pedal to the metal at his fastest on the record. Guitars again syncing with Tucker's high shrieking vocals add such an eclectic sound to the track. The song features the deathcore trademark of fast drums, slow chug guitars, and pig squeal vocals, but it works on the track since it's done right and not overused on the album. The super slow breakdown at the halfway mark hit so hard with the band going even LOWER and even SLOWER to the track. Double kicks pummel the listener's ears during that section and hit strong, loud and fast in the mix. The album's closer "Prismatic Tomb" with its relentless drumming and aggressive guitar and vocals. With the atmospheric, symphonic, and choir sections similar to Lorna Shore added to the song, brings this beast of an album to a thunderous end.

With this release, Crown Magnetar have released one hell of a record with Everything Bleeds. This band has gotten better with this release. Intense drums, chugging breakdowns that would make any metalhead happy, and with enough different styles infused into this album, this album is one of my favorites of 2023. With this beast of a record, Crown Magnetar deliver a record that is angry, heavy and with the band's relentless aggression, showcases that their fusion of deathcore and slamming death metal makes the band's unique sound their own and a band to watch for in the future.

SCORE: 10 / 10

Track Listing