A LIFE ONCE LOST „Hunter”

Music: Modern Groove Metal
Country: USA
Website: www.alifeoncelost.com
Duration: 36.10
Cool Songs: Rehashed, Vulture, Hunter, A Rush & Siege

When Philadelphia quintet A Life Once Lost released their 2003 album ‘A Great Artist’ I alluded to the fact that a couple of other like-minded bands had cause to pursue a court preceding based on ‘plagiarism’. Of course, A Life Once Lost are not the only band to base their core sound on extremely well established template (Swedish Melodic Death bands especially), but gee, did they pushed the envelope.

Incredibly, despite my concerns about their musical approach, ‘A Great Artist’ was an excellent listen. It also walked a more technical and progressive path compared to the multitude of other ‘metalcore’ acts that they have been (rightly or wrongly) lumbered with. Clearly, this band showed much promise and with the release of ‘The Hunter’ (via new label ‘Ferret Music’) I was looking forward to see just where the band had taken their lumbering groove metal style some two years on from ‘Artist’.

If there was one aspect (other than its Meshuggah-isms) that punters could have complained about with ‘Artist’ was its one-paced, trance inducing riff repetition. Oh, it crushed in terms of intensity, but if you were looking for some sort of variation and exploration of rhythmic patterns, ‘Artist’ tested your patience. Fortunately, ‘The Hunter’ finds ALOL addressing that very problem with great success.

The most immediate aspect about ‘The Hunter’ is its decidedly hefty Rob Caggiano production – suitably thick and pounding in the fat bottom end, the almost suffocating dryness of ‘Artist’ is no longer an overriding factor. In this sense, musically the band has been able to explore different textures in their song writing and as such ‘The Hunter’ is a much more ‘upbeat’ and tempo-varied album. It also appears to be a bit more technical and intricate in its riff ideas – rather than sitting on a repetitive chugging riff, guitarist Robert Carpenter and Doug Sabolick employ diverse time signatures and way more colour and groove in their riff ideas. The Meshuggah lock down groove is still part of their game, but a massive nod in the Lamb of God meets Burnt by The Sun direction is clearly apparent now. Drummer Justin Graves hasn’t been left out of the loop either – with the more dynamic and diverse rhythms explored on ‘The Hunter’ he has been asked to provide a more interesting back beat, resplendent with lots of fills, double kick affects and cymbal work. It is also notable that the lead work on ‘The Hunter’ is much more prominent and expressive than it ever was on ‘Artist’. This is a very good thing.

The only real problem I have with ‘The Hunter’ is Nicholas Frasca’s vocals. As far as the band as come musically, Frasca hasn’t stepped up quite as far. Granted not a whole lot more can be done with a harsh/shouty vocal approach (other than clean it up), but it seems as though Frasca has become even more abrasive in his delivery, taking some of his vocal cues from one Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) no doubt. Such is Frasca’s similarity, Blythe even guests on ‘Vulture’ and I couldn’t tell the difference. Listen, Frasca’s style suits his bands music, but I just think, that maybe Jens Kidman (Meshuggah) and Blythe have a little more identity and character about their vocals. And maybe, another similar style vocalist is a case of ONE too many. I’m not sure what he can do to address this – I’m certain ‘cleaning’ it up would have the punters screaming for his blood – but, for the moment Frasca is possibly the bands weak link.

Ultimately, ‘The Hunter’ stands up the bands strongest release. It’s not a quantum leap, but the vagaries of ‘The Artist’ have been suitably addressed and the result is a much more diverse and intricate groove oriented metal album. Fans of Meshuggah and Lamb of God can approach with confidence knowing that they will find a similar style, but one that has enough identity and character to stand on its own.

note: Quote: 7.8

Tracklist

Rehashed
Needleman
Vulture
Pain & Panic
Hunter
Grotesque
Salai
A Rush & Siege
I Give In
Ghosting
With Pitiless Blows