I will make no excuses for my nauseating elitism when it comes to Deathcore, and believe that I am steeped enough in the genre to be pedantic and nitpicky, especially when it comes to reviewing veteran popular artists in this subgenre. Thy Art Is Murder’s newest record Godlike is on the chopping block today. Let’s see if their newest offering has any meat or is it merely a carcass of its former glory
I was highly critical of their previous record, 2018’s Human Target and my review can be read here. Therein I summarized my premonition that the band would quickly fade into obscurity if severe efforts weren’t spent in making innovations in their new trademark, and admittedly stale brand of deathcore. Especially in today’s deathcore landscape, where there are new bands growing like weeds in every corner of the globe, and existing bands continue to blast their way into stardom with creative, inventive, and just downright nasty-sounding records. This isn’t the time to be resting on your laurels, even for a band that can arguably consider themselves among the stewards of the genre. There’s only so many times you can rewrite Hate!
The five years since Human Target did see TAIM feature on the crushing split EP The Aggression Sessions (a sequel EP to The Depression Sessions) alongside Fit For An Autopsy and Malevolence. They have had plenty of time at the drawing board to craft and hone their next product. In that regard, they do enjoy some measure of success with Godlike. The record does seem like a genuine attempt at trying to step away from the shadow of Hate, to an extent.
The album kicks off with “Destroyer of Dreams”, and from the opening chugs, the listener will know exactly what to expect from the track and the record. It’s not till the first single “Join Me In Armageddon” kicks in that I personally hear anything special from the Aussie camp. The melody that forms the central theme does harken to a semblance of more thoughtful songwriting, and the riffs that follow, while pretty standard fare for the band, five records in, are still useful as a counterbalance to the melodic sections. “Keres” is also an aggressively fun romp, with nifty tremolo-picked runs to change up the monotone chugs that are a plague upon the genre, and feature the first of the admittedly few but enjoyable guitar solos on Godlike. Fortunately, “Everything Unwanted” has the potential to be among the freshest tracks that Thy Art has written in a long time, with quick tempos, pacing changes, a pervading sense of melancholy, and even a delicious solo thrown in for good measure. If that track has potential, then the track that truly shows its potential to be the next stage in the evolution of TAIM has to be “Anathema”. This track is the standout track of Godlike and is as technically energetic as it is brutal, with an intro chordal riff that may just be the stalwart arrangement on the record! If Thy Art’s next record is ten new songs that explore the same elements like “Everything Unwanted”, and “Anathema”, and even forayed into some of the more cinematic aspects of album closer “Bermuda”, we’d have a real winner on our hands!
However, an academic trek through Godlike brings upon a startling, yet troubling realization. Thy Art is Murder is being superseded in every aspect of their songwriting by other bands. In a weird reversal of fortune, they seem like a pale imitation of Fit For An Autopsy, where earlier FFAA records felt like TAIM-lite. Fit For An Autopsy is doing a better job of writing memorable melodic doom-core riffs, which seem to overtake even the more intricate tracks on Godlike like “Everything Unwanted”, and the title track “Godlike” and “Corrosion” (which also descends into FFAA dominated territory). In 2023, Thy Art is Murder lacks the steadfastness of Carnifex, the technical pluckiness of Crown Magnetar (Everything Bleeds is everything TAIM wishes they can write now), and the sheer weight of glory that Lorna Shore is enjoying in recent years. Even Suicide Silence managed to dust off their chops and give us an energetic record with Remember… You Must Die! to try to regain some of their lost spark. Sadly, Godlike while an enjoyable record, would be special as a debut or anticipated sequel record, but isn’t quite cutting it as a path-building or genre-defining record. Heck, Thy Art is Murder cannot write a fresh-sounding breakdown in 2023 and are being overshadowed by debut records. Every single breakdown on Godlike sounds rehashed, tired, and altogether uninspired.
Thy Art is Murder is further held back by absolutely godawful production, yet again. I voiced my sincere displeasure with the guitar mix in my review of Human Target, and Godlike has an identically miserably muddy production. The low-mid space that down tuned guitars, upper-range bass, and the snares occupy are pummeled into a muddy indiscernible mess, lacking all clarity. Nearly all of the intricacies and nuance of any fast-paced riff is reduced to a rumble, and the breakdowns lack any impact and sound like being repeatedly beaten by a wet sack of potatoes without any sense of toothed menace. This messy production caused me such intense listener fatigue that I was forced to consume the record in bite-sized pieces and couldn’t appreciate the record as a complete product.
Guitarists Andy Marsh and Sean Delander really need to rethink their songwriting tools, tricks, and flairs, because their offerings are immediately trite, hamfisted, and provoke a sense of “I have heard this before, but better”. However, drummer Jesse Beahler is doing his best work on Godlike. My previous review stated that his skilled drum work would be better served as he gets more involved in the creation process, and my prophecy rings true, as his drum work elevates every single element on Godlike and could be the saving grace of the record. Vocalist CJ McMahon tries to step up his game on Godlike and does throw in more vocal flair on tracks here, even lending emotional heft on “Everything Unwanted”, “Lessons in Pain”, and “Bermuda”. His problematic lack of enunciation isn’t completely reworked on the record, but there is an improvement, and credit must be given where it is due. Sadly, he continues to be a controversial figure in the deathcore world, and some of his opinions have done him and his band a grand disservice by excluding certain demographics of their fandom, which is particularly sad as Metal and deathcore have always prided themselves as being welcoming to the cultural castaways providing safe havens to all.
While certainly more innovative than Human Target, Godlike may be too little too late to keep Thy Art is Murder relevant in an age of hyperconsumption and ever-decreasing attention spans. A record with an equal amount of stale tropes with a few special moments of novel goodness, the overall product is once more held back by worrying production choices, leading to an uneven mess.
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Songwriting & Lyrics7/10 GoodThy Art is Murder cannot write a fresh-sounding breakdown in 2023 and are being overshadowed by debut records. Every single breakdown on Godlike sounds rehashed, tired, and altogether uninspired.
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Overall Sound6/10 Normal'Godlike' is an album with an equal amount of stale tropes with a few special moments of novel goodness, the overall product is once more held back by worrying production choices, leading to an uneven mess.