Merauder

Master Killer (Century Media)
by Chaz Thorndike

With a brutal metal crunch, this one took a while to convince me it had hardcore influences. Hardcore sound doesn’t mean squat without the ideals of HC behind it. Without it, it’s just choppy, stompy, angry metal roaring about “Life Is Pain.” While Merauder still strike me as more of a powerhouse metal band than an ethics-first HC band with a metal sound, much of the decision was swayed be Jorge’s vocals. Jorge doesn’t sound like a NY native, like the rest of the band. His voice has more European death style than one typically expects from a street-smart NYHC band. Growing up in Brooklyn gangsville and befriending bands such as Biohazard, I’d expected more an Earth Crisis sound than a Grip Inc. sound. Very metal. Not a bad thing in ’95, but it’s important (to some of us, at least) that the differences be noted.

With that categorization bullshit out of the way, allow me to state that after a few listens, I greatly enjoyed Merauder. While the vocals are roaring Grip Inc. style, the paces, drumming, soloing, and mean guitar sound are more simple and brutal. A Slayer/Kreator half-step riff tossed in here, a double bass thunder added there, but the sound and styles are predominantly chugging metal bangers and slow mosh plodding beauties. Lyrics of sin, Christ, mirrors, time, and pain. “Life Is Pain” and the tempo-varying “Beseige the Masses” are my pick highlights for the strongest and most diverse songs. While both band and album title bespeak amateurism, this band has the brute force to leave a guaranteed impact.