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Destroyer Destroyer - Littered With Arrows

Thursday, 03 April 2008

Editor's rating

8.9

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Zach Alderman
Top 10 Reviewer
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Thursday, 03 April 2008
Average user rating: 8.1
1 User reviews

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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Trial
02. A Golden Technique
03. Horse-Drawn
04. Littered With Arrows
05. Off the Beaten Path
06. We've Been Had V2
07. Dead Weight
08. Daddy Long Legs
09. Schools Named
10. Number Cruncher
11. The Feeling is Mutual
12. Error

Artist: Destroyer Destroyer
Title: Littered With Arrows
Genre: Grindcore
Release Date: 17 July 2007
Record Label: Goodfellow Records
Format: Full-length
Country: United States of America
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Destroyer Destroyer - Littered With Arrows

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Editor review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful


Overall rating (weighted)		8.9
Musicianship		9.0
Composition		9.0
Experimentation		9.0
Production		8.0
Value		9.0

It starts abruptly, no warning, no ambient intro, no fade in. All you have is that turgid guitar riff, slow and methodical, repeating for nearly a minute. Underneath the guitar, though, is some other beast altogether; it sounds like a battalion of drummers, beating and clawing and tearing at their kits, syncing up with the riff but in no manner you can count, let alone nod your head to. And then, again without any forewarning, you're thrown head first into the next song. Atop the splatters of percussion and grimy notes shrieks some two headed... well, you're not sure what it is, but it's piercing and pissed off and it's got a throat of steel. Welcome to Destroyer Destroyer.

Hailing from Oklahoma, Destroyer Destroyer play a thick-but-nimble brand of modern extreme music, drawing their main cues from the likes of the Sawtooth Grin, Machinist, and myriad other technical bands. With the release of Littered with Arrows, the band have truly outdone themselves, unleashing a concise album that flows throughout and never deviates from its nihilistic vision. With this record, evolving nicely from the shorter EPs preceding it, the band has set the standards high not only for themselves, but for any band pairing mind-numbing technicality with primal aggression.

As technical as their work might be, Destroyer Destroyer never quite fit the exact mold of modern day tech bands. Yes, DD utilize countless time signatures, often in the same song, and often all at once, resulting in the fits of polyrhythmic spazzery for which the group is renowned. Where this band differs from its peers, though, are the textures and aural qualities they drown themselves in, resulting in a more organic sound than contemporary acts. Drummer Noah Taylor brings an unmatched level of jazzy urgency to his playing, seemingly pounding every piece of his equipment at once and washing the songs in cymbals. Guitars, supplied for this record by Corey Ray and Mike Franklin, provide much of the rhythmic propulsion, trudging along in knuckle-dragging splendor that makes an excellent counterpoint to Taylor's non-stop battery. The syrup-thick sound adhered to by the guitar duo completely fills the sonic space, drowning the listener without blotting out the other players. The bass of Dallas Niles keeps excellent time, a feat unto itself, and brings in a satisfying low-end that gives the songs much of their wallop. And, of course, there's vocalist Jamie Schnetzler, whose tremendous range and cryptic lyrical musings bring an emotional variety to the songs. The sound of this band is simultaneously dirge-like in its sense of doom and endlessly frenetic in its epileptic thrashing. The audience cannot help but listen in awe.

Music Information

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User reviews

Average user rating from: 1 user(s)


Overall rating (weighted)		8.1
Musicianship		7.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		9.0
Production		8.0
Value		9.0

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Sunday, 11 May 2008

Written by Kavon Samie - View all my reviews - Top 50 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		8.1
Musicianship		7.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		9.0
Production		8.0
Value		9.0

The album was great. I have been a fan for some time now, and I was looking forward to this album. The recording quality was better then the previous release, it really showed me that Destroyer Destroyer is not a one timer and can really write something to follow up The Dead Sleep Like Us For A Reason. Overall, BUY THIS ALBUM!

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