Seattle’s I Declare War is arguably one of the more heavy new bands to come out onto the hardcore/deathcore scene, even after such a turbulent history. Founded in 2005, the band has been through numerous lineup changes due to members either not wanting to leave their families on tour anymore, or they weren’t making enough money to continue. Even now no original member of the band remains, however this doesn’t take away from how brutal and powerful the current lineup is.
Their last self titled album was met with much praise among the deathcore community, meaning they had a lot of expectations to live up to. I myself became really anticipated for their next album, and holy fuck they delivered. On April 15, 2014 I Declare War released their 5th album “We Are Violent People By Nature” through Artery Recordings. I promise you, it will melt your face off.
If you love breakdowns, blast beats, chugging, and slams, this is the album for you. The album kicks off with “Quiet,” which starts off with a very eerie and atmospheric feel, but then kicks into palm muted breakdowns mixed with dissonant sounding guitar work. Throughout the album vocalist Jamie Hanks makes great use of his screaming ability by combining his low growls and his ear piercing high screams in an onslaught of brutality. Also he looks like King Leonidas from 300, thats as metal as you can be.
The song “Shadow Man” takes you through many tempo changes ranging from fast blast beats and double bass to the most epic slams you’ve heard, and it works. This song was one of my personal favorites because of the supremely crushing breakdown that came at the end of the song. “A Dark Hole to Crawl Into” features some vocals from Landon Trewers of The Plot in You, which was a nice addition of diversity compared to Jamie’s vocals. The guitar riff for the track “Eternal I Sleep” is just straight up badass.
Even though I loved this album, it isn’t perfect . Songwriting could have been more varied throughout, as it could get monotonous for some to just listen to breakdowns and blast beats constantly. The album itself might be better in a playlist rather than just listening to it all the way through.
Overall “We Are Violent People By Nature” is a monstrous addition to the bands already brutal catalogue. Listening to it may make you want to punch holes in walls and stomp on faces. If you like deathcore at all, you need to check out this beast of an album as soon as possible.
-Bradley D
