What do you guys think about the new LIVING SACRIFICE cd???

Placing them under the metalcore umbrella is not an insult. I thought that Reborn had some thrash metal influences and was a move away from the death metal sound of the previous two but it was clearly the band following the trends in heavy music, ie. metalcore. I didn't really think they moved away from that sound on the follow-up albums, though the clips I've heard of the new album sound like a definite move towards neo-thrash metal.

I was actually referring to those who think they are defending LS by denying their change to metalcore. As if only the Raven & Anvil crowd defines what is true metal. Metalcore is metal with hardcore influence. LS have been playing it quite well for like 16 years. No shame in that whatsoever.

Metalcore wasn't even a genre in 1997 when Reborn came out. Sure, metal-influenced hardcore bands like Integrity and Pro-Pain have been at it for far longer than the genre label has, but I just don't think Living Sacrifice fall into that category. I hear no hardcore. Even alongside the latter-day "metalcore" bands like Killswitch Engage, I don't hear it.

Maybe I'm being a genre snob, but to me Living Sacrifice are far more death metal than metalcore or anything hardcore influenced. Even a band like Caliban and Heaven Shall Burn, both of whom are considered metalcore, don't quite fit that mold for me. But Living Sacrifice, in my opinion, are not very far removed from modern-day Hypocrisy.

Anyway, I'm not saying everyone who labels a band "metalcore" is doing so to be insulting. But often that is the case.

Temple of Blood wrote:

OK, so just for the sake of argument, what bands do you put in the following categories:

metalcore -
nu-metal -
groove thrash -

?

Let's see, in order...







 

I also think that the album before was more metalcore but this new one, beside the vocals maybe, has more thrash metal riffs.

Since Reborn, I don't think they fit neatly into any one subgenre. Just to be clear, I listen to a lot of Metalcore too.....but IMO, Living Sacrifice doesn't fit the Metalcore tag that they are often given.  

At the end of the day.....I don't care if they are Metalcore, Death, or Britney Spears fusion crossover metal.......I LOVE em.  

I agree with Eyesore,LS are more Death Metal than Metalcore.Theres no hardcore element there.Hatebreed are Metalcore,LS are not.

I've never thought of LS as metalcore. Maybe a little metalcore influence. I personally don't care for their first few albums. DJ's vocals are terrible IMO. They came to form with Reborn. The new album is great.

To me, the people who deny the heavy core influence with this band are those who perceive such a tag as being derogatory. It's not, & it doesn't make them any less bad ass.

As for myself, I just don't hear this as death metal. Not even in a modern sense. My opinion is the minority though apparently.

We all have weird ears. All I hear with this release is thrash. I love it.

mc666 wrote:

To me, the people who deny the heavy core influence with this band are those who perceive such a tag as being derogatory. It's not, & it doesn't make them any less bad ass.

As for myself, I just don't hear this as death metal. Not even in a modern sense. My opinion is the minority though apparently.

I'm with you. It's heavy as a tank but it definitely has a heavy core influence, though I do hear the thrash influences on this new album moreso than the past few.

As I recall, I interviewed the band just after Reborn came out and they said they were trying to move away from the death metal sound.

I hear very little if any hardcore in their music. If the band was trying to move away from the death metal style, they failed. Haha.

New albums smokes musically! It is the best thing they have done since the S/T by far. Even the vocals have improved some. Bruce's vocals are not quite as monotonous/monotone or grating as past albums. They are still the one thing that will prevent this album from truly becoming a classic neo-thrash album; however, the music is good enough to put up with them (unlike their other albums). Andy Sneap didn't handle the production side of things this time around. I think the vocals are a bit barried in the mix because of it. Perhaps that is a good thing:-) I like the tempo of the vocals. I just wish they had more variation and were more discernable. That vocal style can work well with groove/thrash metal (add to the agression like another instrument) if they are delivered in a style that can be understood (e.g., Six Feet Deep - Struggle, early Pantera, Mindrage, 1st Fasedown, Godfear, Sepultura, etc.). However, if you can't undestand what is being said it just becomes distracting noise that takes away from the music (i.e., death metal or typical hardcore vocals). Again, the album shreds musically. Maybe they will continue in this direction moving forward (neo-thrash) and Bruce will begin to adjust his vocal delivery to the music. I think that he is capable. It is just a stylistic thing.

The new one is good, but I still like the Infinite Order better.

However you want to label this, it's just damn good! Seriously, I was blown away upon first listen, one sample was enough to get me to order the cd, and I haven't liked any lp by them since the debut!