Album Review: I Am The Shotgun -I Am The Shotgun

This self-titled album is a hefty slab of deathcore, with a thudding pulse of bass and percussion as a backbeat to crunchy breakdowns and dynamic leads. The guitar had some cool pitch harmonics and intricate solos, otherwise falling in lock-step with the rhythmic sections. All hell breaks loose when two or more rhythms syncopate, such as in the track This Mic Smells Like Beer, in which the chugging bass lines and machine gun drumming are staggered with the vocals. Throughout the album, the vocals have a call-and-response structure, which is an ingenious way to showcase both low pitched growls and high pitched screams.

VI and You’ve Got Red On You are consecutive tracks, and possibly the best on the album by virtue of their shredding guitar work.  On the other hand, some tracks are just plain silly, but even these are somewhat enjoyable if you get on the same level as the band when they made them; That is to say, you get so drunk or high that you think stupid things are funny. If you get blitzed accordingly, you might even forgive the random recording at the end of the album, to which I will generously refer as a bonus track.

I Am The Shotgun is very rhythmic and bass driven, with palm-muted percussive leads and a predominantly low-pitched vocal style. This is solid stock, a hybrid of death metal and hardcore influences.  This album is best enjoyed cranked to an  obnoxious volume at an obscene hour in the night. You can find the band on Reverbnation and Facebook.  Now if you’ll excuse this hasty farewell, my neighbors have surrounded me with torches and pitchforks. Three stars out of five!