Surrender Now – “Voyager” [EP]

This Tampa-based metalcore act have just released a monstrously heavy, brutally punishing slab of metal titled, Voyager. Album opener is an instrumental that while good, does not hint at the looming aural assault in “Distant Voices” that immediately rips into you with seriously down-tuned guitars, raspy guttural screams, and breakdowns galore. I was surprised that amidst the aural carnage there remained a fair amount of technicality woven in; these guys can really shred!

The pounding continues on the next two songs, “Enter Sto’Vo’Kor” and “Shields Are Down”, both of which are so good and heavy it is ridiculous. Then comes “Horror Of It All”… My blood was pumping from the previous tunes and the title sounded so big and bad and then well, nothing. The disc’s vibe was ruined with a slowed down, drum-driven instrumental that just completely threw me off. There are no fretboard acrobats or cool rhythm patterns to latch on to… it just goes nowhere.

Luckily the EP’s last two songs offer some redemption bringing the fury once more and establishing the band as a powerful metallic force. At the end of the day I think, minus “Q” and “Horror Of It All”, these guys have created five solid tunes that could easily hold their own with some of the more well-known names in the metalcore genre. Give these guys a listen, I think you will dig them.

Track Listing:

01. Q
02. Distant Voices
03. Enter Sto‘Vo’Kor
04. Shields Are Down
05. Horror Of It All
06. Metreon Cascade
07. The Khitomer Massacre

Run Time: 30:00
Release Date: October 12, 2013

Check out the EP ‘Voyager’