Counterfeit Culture – “Deathwish” [EP] [Album Review]

I was excited to get my hands on Deathwish, the forthcoming 3-track debut EP from New Jersey quartet Counterfeit Culture. Their story is a positive one and begins with them forming in high school with a mission and desire to shake up heavy music and stand out from the crowd by inspiring and encouraging others to be who they want to be. In some respects, they are on that road to success having created a good local buzz performing with acts such as Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder and Like Moth to Flames.

Kicking off with “Apothecary”, featuring Ricky Armellino of This Or The Apocalypse, this is a showcase journey through the genres, opening with some strong polyrhythmic tech metal lines, they manage to get in heavy breakdowns, death metal vocals and clean soaring harmonies all in just under 4 minutes.

“Second Soul” builds on the strong Djent metalcore vibe this EP is all about and will be a great addition for fans of artists such as Northlane, Erra and Currents. However, its the debut single “X” which is the standout track for me. Combining beautiful, layered vocal harmonies with heavy downtuned guitars and great conviction, this makes for a strong justification that these guys are writing songs with honesty and passion.

Unfortunately, I don’t particularly like the production across the board, with everything, particularly the guitar sound, just lacking that extra sonic punch needed to standout from the ever increasing roster of bands making similar moves. Despite that, however, the promise is clearly apparent. These songs are real and are written to inspire others, and for that I encourage you to check them out and make up your own mind…

Deathwish Track Listing:

01. Apothecary
02. Second Soul
03. X

Run Time: 10:26
Release Date: August 1, 2017

Check out the video for the debut single “X” taken from Deathwish