EMPLOYED TO SERVE

Conquering

Spinefarm
rating icon 8.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Universal Chokehold
02. Exist
03. Twist the Blade
04. Sun Up To Sun Down
05. The Mistake
06. We Don't Need You
07. Set in Stone
08. Mark of the Grave
09. World Ender
10. The Conquering
11. Stand Alone


The decades-old relationship between hardcore and heavy metal hasn't always run smoothly. But while there are countless examples of bands that blurred the lines between the genres and ended up producing unforgivably awful music, there are also bands like the UK's EMPLOYED TO SERVE. The overall aesthetic and clunky band name are hardcore to the bone, of course, but everything else about "Conquering" (and, indeed, its predecessors) screams the irrefutable truth that this band are making music that defies cynicism and smashes as hard as anything else out there. There's a touch of genius in EMPLOYED TO SERVE's sound: it's fervently modern but rooted in old-school notions of heaviness; it's unapologetic in its debt to a post-SLIPKNOT metal mentality, but still refreshingly devoid of contemporary cliché. And, most important of all, it underscores some seriously great songs that will briskly pin most listeners to the nearest wall.

For once, the much-abused term "modern metal" seems appropriate. EMPLOYED TO SERVE wield the same sort of crushing sonic power that we expect from genuinely heavy metal, and from epic opener "Universal Chokehold" onwards, its impact is self-evident. Justine Jones's scabrous vocals are a strong anchor to the hardcore world, and plainly this band have hungrily consumed the CONVERGE back catalogue. But "Universal Chokehold" slams and slays with doggedly metallic intent, right down to its dissonant but weirdly stirring chorus.

Time and again on "Conquering", discerning listeners will find themselves compelled to shriek "The riffs!" The straightforwardly punishing "Exist" begins at an almost PRONG-like clip, before speeding up and heading straight for the death 'n' roll jugular. This band's understanding of 30 years of heavy and extreme music is more than apparent, but it's the way they wring fresh ideas from all of that noise that makes this such a joyous piece of work. Even "Twist the Blade", with its cheerful nods to nu-metal and the days of grunge morbidity, does its job with a killer riff strike rate that should strike fear into the hearts of the half-hearted everywhere. It is followed by "Sun Up To Sun Down", which is as remorseless and stirring as its title suggests and then the utterly berserk "The Mistake", wherein snotty blastbeats, serrated-edge thrashcore beatdowns and several tons of bilious chug collide. EMPLOYED TO SERVE sustain the quality and intensity, too. From "We Don't Need You", a monstrous slab of doomy crossover, to the rampaging, tech-death textures of the title track, "Conquering" is fresh, fiery and fiercely original to the bitter, bruising end. The hybrid is steel-plated and unerring, the songs are uniformly strong, and the end result will shatter your skull. If this is metalcore, maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.

Author: Dom Lawson
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).