Setup, the - minister of death

While their debut could not totally convince me, the Setups new output may do so. Although nothing too groundbreaking, this tough metalcore record has some certain charme. First and foremost, their frontman brings one of the most aggressive performances of this weeks update. Total over the top screaming, rough and luckily uncheesy, just plain and pure screaming, fitting well into the music and already being one part of it’s charme. Speaking about the music itself, I always mentioned that although rather generic stuff is served here, this develops some energy. Think about Cataract for the metalpart as well as some tough guy band like Terror for the general tough approach of the Setup, and the basic mixture is already described. A good production, some well balanced songwriting, the abandonment of too cheesy tough guy moments, some nice although retained melodies here and there add their part to the mix. Listen to the title-track to get a feeling for this. A choir is maybe a bit too predictable, but works well on here most of the time. All that mixed with the relentless screaming from the vocalist, the whole record gets a kinda pissed, desperate feeling. Often, the rythms appear quite laid back, meaning midtempo, and through that massive and danceable, which is nothing bad. A tasty artwork and a quite cool production rounds this up - as said, nothing fresh or totally surprising, but a good tough metal record with some nice moments.