Connect with us

Album Review

The Last Ten Seconds of Life – ‘The Last Ten Seconds of Life’ [Album Review]

Mixing nu-metal and deathcore, TLTSOL’s new self-titled album (Unique Leader Records) sounds like a mouthwatering cocktail of heaviness. Read our thoughts here.

Published

on

When The Last Ten Seconds Of Life frontman John Robert Centorrino roars “Welcome to the worst day of your life” during the opening moments of “Invictus Unto Fire,” the first offering from the Pennsylvania slammers’ new self-titled disc, high expectations are set for the rest of the record. A ferocious assault marrying up nu-metal with deathcore with alt-metal, the self-titled collection certainly doesn’t pull any punches but sadly, for the most part, the end result sounds like a band who are just throwing every influence possible into the mix and seeing what comes out.

Now, before you’ve hit play, reading that the album will appeal to fans of Korn and Slipknot as much as it will fans of Alice In Chains or Pantera raises the anticipation level tenfold but, as you wade through the dense heaviness, sometimes the end result just doesn’t feel joined up at the seams. On paper, it should be absolutely blistering and there are some absolute huge moments of ominous heaviness throughout the album, but there just aren’t enough of them.

“The Sabbath” is a perfect example of the problem where their personality flits schizophrenically between skittish deathcore, nightmare-inducing horror atmospherics and a breakdown at the end that is just spine-crushing but, while it should be utterly devastating, it just doesn’t quite deliver. On the flip side of that, when it all locks into place, as it does on “Birth of the Butcher,” the end result is quite fucking terrifying.

At any point throughout this self-titled onslaught you can pick out any number of similar bands to add to the list above including King 810, DevilDriver and Emmure and, while the recipe for this stew of musical filth is absolutely mouthwatering, the end result isn’t quite as tasty. “Alter of Poison” is another example where the sound lurches uncomfortably between testicle-crushing deathcore and alt-metal breaks. That being said, if you’re into the heavier end of the metal spectrum, when the quartet sync the heaviness together as they do on the wonderfully disturbing “Sickness In Seattle,” they really have the means to make your teeth rattle in your gums.

In essence, while The Last Ten Seconds of Life has plenty of solid moments it suffers from the fact that it doesn’t flow together particularly comfortably. There is no doubt that The Last Ten Seconds of Life know how to write music that can both creep you out and make you want to slam your face into a wall. However, sometimes, as is the case during “A Lesson On Self-Preservation,” where the band mash together the eerieness of Korn with the bone-breaking heaviness of any number of deathcore bands, you wish they would stick with one or the other.

The Last Ten Seconds Of Life Track Listing:

1. Invictus Unto Fire
2. Zapffe Isn’t Invited to the Party
3. The Sabbath
4. Birth of the Butcher
5. Alter of Poison
6. Guillotine Queen
7. Hate What You Love
8. Vampire (A Blood Ballad)
9. Glory Be 2 Misery
10. Wasted (Interlude)
11. Sickness In Seattle
12. Suicide Watch (Instrumental)
13. A Lesson On Self-Preservation
14. Procession

Run Time: 50:34
Release Date: January 28, 2022
Record Label: Unique Leader Records

I have an unhealthy obsession with bad horror movies, the song Wanted Dead Or Alive and crap British game shows. I do this not because of the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle it affords me but more because it gives me an excuse to listen to bands that sound like hippos mating.

Trending