Light This City

Facing The Thousand (Prosthetic)
by Scott Hefflon

It’s funny how many fine bands like Light This City there are, and how only a dozen become the name bands people know, and all the rest open for each other on tours only diehards go to. Cuz this stuff ain’t easy to play, ya know? The Darkest Hour riffs are simplier than the Swedish originators (flutter-picked death always impresses me, cuz I can’t play the style for shit), the drummer is a freakin’ beast, tackling death march and blast and rolling triplets and thrash gallop and everything else under the blackened sun.

This Bay Area band know their metal so thoroughly, I don’t mind calling them a metal band, and most American metal/metalcore bands I want to steer clear of, cuz they don’t know their shit. And, like Arch Enemy, that amazing voice is a female’s. Laura Nichols, by name. She’s got the goods. And actually, after a couple more spins of “Exile” and the like, the guitarists deserve to be commended. The fretboard-hopping fills and singing leads are classy, I just happen to’ve been playing the style since At The Gates were still together, and I learned Kreator’s and Exodus’ songs note for note two decades ago, so it’s kinda second-nature to me.
(www.prostheticrecords.com)