When I was cutting my teeth on more extreme music, deathcore was one of the first genres that I really gravitated to. Bands like Job for a Cowboy, All Shall Perish and Rose Funeral were on constant rotation. They really helped set up the foundation for me getting into the heavier stuff like black and death metal. Nowadays I find it hard to connect with most deathcore but every once in a while a band comes along that reminds me of why I loved deathcore for so long. The Jotunn are a four-piece melodic deathcore band from Ohio that recently dropped their debut self-released album. Featuring Paul and Shawn Kahan, Paul on vocals and Shawn on guitar, Nick Amato on drums and Cole Martinez on bass (formerly of Salt the Wound, one of my favorites back in the day), these boys a brand of deathcore that isn’t super chuggy or breakdown heavy like we find in the genre these days. What we get is a more melodic, riff heavy style of deathcore. Songs “Lessons in Reviving the Dead” and “Infinite Stalker” are prime examples of this. Super catchy riffs that keep you interested and coming back for more. They can also take the it up a notch with the heaviness like in “Until the Light Leaves Your Eyes”. The song starts of chuggy with barking style vocals overtop that is more hardcore than deathcore. A really fun track that would make an excellent closer to a live set. My favorite song on the album is definitely the song “Leechling”. It contains an excellent chugging riff, lightning fast double bass in parts and nice little breakdown towards the end. It takes me back to those early years. Such a fun little track. Clocking in just under 30 minutes, Graveworshipper is the perfect length for me when it comes to deathcore. It doesn’t overstay its welcome with too many songs but also isn’t too short to where you are left wanting more. I hope to see more from this group in the future. It is the kind of deathcore I will get down with any day of the week!
- The Metal Architect
