It’s always great to hear new bands take on decades old genres. Giving a tried and true sound their own spin, and keeping it fresh. As with many modern bands, lines between genres tend to blur, but often neither is truly lost. This is the case with Braindown, out of Delson, Québec, Canada. July 6th, 2020 saw the release of their debut EP titled Atrocious Beliefs.
The sound is a brutal mixture of the carnivorous side of death metal, with the speed and riffs of thrash metal. This Thrashing Death Metal band has been around since 2016, and have been tearing it up within their local scene. This EP is the culmination of their hard work over the years, with hopefully more to come later this year. With Atrocious Beliefs, Braindown tackle the often difficult modern political views towards climate change and the environment, as well as religion’s place within a modern society.
The 4 song EP starts off with the crushing, old-school death metal sounding “Lobotomy.” The classic death metal sound is complete with slow riffs, pinch squeals, and deep guttural growls. At a seven minute runtime, “Lobotomy” is consistently heavy. “Brainwashed,” the bands first completed song, was also released as a single in May 2020. The opening riff is a definite pull in, and that riff remains steady and solid throughout the song. The vocals have a mix of deep guttural and the higher pitched screams of black metal.
“Final Judgement” is an absolute thrash song. It is fast, yet crushing. It is a song that craves movement. This will surely get a crowd going. To close out Atrocious Beliefs, is a mashup of “…And Justice For All” by Metallica and “Am I Evil” by Diamond Head, but famously covered by Metallica. This rendition of these two classic songs is brutal! It is slowed down and heavier than the originals. The first half is “Justice, closing out with “Am I Evil.”
This is a great first outing by a great new band. Braindown hope to have more music ready this year, but for now are incredibly proud of Atrocious Beliefs. Atrocious Beliefs is available now on most streaming services and for digital download via Bandcamp.