Album Reviews : Verses All – Embrace the Upgrade

Embrace the Upgrade is the debut EP from four-piece melodic death metal five-piece Verses All, hailing from Brunswick in Victoria. Considering the healthy live music scene in the area, it’s no wonder that bands of this quality are consistently coming to the attention of the wider national and international music scene.

When listening to the seven tracks on the EP, the first obvious comparison that comes to mind is early Arch Enemy, when Johan Liiva was on vocal duties, or even early In Flames, with guttural roars, blackened screams and fast paced guitar that ploughs your senses with a thick, relentless rhythmic assault. The music has a strong focus on this rhythm, as opposed to the dominant lead guitar melody that bands such as Arch Enemy display. That’s not to say that they don’t display some brilliant lead guitar technicality, with some brilliant solos on display in “Order Through Chaos” and “Resist”. The latter of these songs is the centrepiece track of the EP, with a powerful, heavy rhythm, intermittent vocals and a constant energy that justifies the screaming of the band’s name in the chorus.

Verses All show a diverse range of influences, with clean vocals employed in a couple of the songs. “Propaganda” has some brilliantly unique clean vocals that prove the band can break free of any predispositions the genre may have and do their own thing.

As if seven awesome songs of crushing melodic death metal wasn’t enough to satisfy, the band have even offered Embrace the Upgrade as a ‘pay whatever you want’ download online. Whilst you can easily download this for free, I encourage everyone to show your support for some great Aussie talent and donate what you can to their metallic cause. ‘Embrace the Upgrade’ is definitely worthy of your dollars. 8/10 

Band: Verses All
Album: Embrace the Upgrade EP
Year: 2011
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Independent
www.myspace.com/versesallband 

Tracklisting:
1. Poverty of Thought
2. Pu(t)rify
3. Order Through Chaos
4. Resist
5. Propaganda
6. 100 Suns
7. Soul Survivor