Ion Dissonance – “Cast The First Stone” [Album Review]

Five seconds into “Burdens”, the opening track on Ion Dissonance’s new album Cast The First Stone, and already I can feel my teeth rattling in their sockets. Frontman Kevin McCaughey screeches “Get out of my head…” and chaos ensues as the Canadians announce their return in the most brutal way possible. Six years since the tech pioneers last put out a record, they’re clearly in the mood to pick up where they left off and show why they’re a vital cog in the extreme metal wheel.

Not for fans of a weak disposition, Cast The First Stone sees the band firing on all cylinders as they lurch and howl through track after track of jarring, unrelenting, technically flawless rage. From the abrasive closer “Perpetually Doomed: The Sisphye Task” to the almost feral “To Expiate”, this is raw, violent music.

However, don’t make the mistake of expecting a wall of noise from the Canadians. Yes, the technical behemoths might be ferocious in their delivery but, listening to tracks like “Suffering: The Art Of Letting Go”, there is no doubting the thought and painstaking detail that has gone into every moment on this uncompromising lesson in ferocity. From the juddering, jarring guitars to Mcaughey’s animalistic screeching vocals, Cast The First Stone is unhinged fury straight from the gut.

For almost six years this tech-metal animal has been hibernating but they have woken from their slumber ready to reclaim their position at the top of the pack. With Dillinger heading down the final straight of their career, the Canadians are in a prime position to take over their slot and, listening to this horrific, vicious lesson in heavy, it seems that there are going to be few bands capable of stopping them.

Cast The First Stone Track Listing:

01. Burdens
02. The Truth Will Set You Free
03. To Expiate
04. To Lift the Dead Hand of the Past
05. Untitled II
06. Suffering: The Art of Letting Go
07. Ill Will
08. (D.A.B.D.A) State of Discomposure
09. Treading on Thin Ice
10. Virtue
11. Perpetually Doomed: The Sisyphean Task

Run Time: 35:15
Release Date: November 18, 2016

Check out the song “Treading on Thin Ice”