Review: “First Degree” by Peacemaker

If you haven’t already worked it out yet, back in 1998 when Max Cavalera said “What goes around comes around” he did in fact mean “Karma’s a bitch mother f***er!“. What we probably didn’t realise at the time is that everything (literally everything) is cyclical. When it comes to Metal, a sound grows until it reaches critical mass then dies a death through over saturation only to return in nostalgic fashion at some point down the line. A tweak here, a fix there and people either get it or they don’t. The question for Peacemaker is… are their enough fans of the 2008 My Space era Deathcore sound out there to propel their project into the stratosphere? A high calibre supergroup with former members of Existence Has Failed, Heavy//Hitter and Tactosa on board, the group hail from Florida and have delivered a debut EP titled “First Degree“. Mixed and mastered by Hunter Young and Brandan Kyle at Digital Ghost Audio (formerly know as The Swamp Sound) who are known for their work with Bodybox, Weeping and Static Dress to name but a few…

The convicted felons who put their names to Peacemaker are bassist Tyler Dumais, guitarist Joe Schultz, drummer Jerry Gauntz and vocalist pairing Jordan Hanley and Mark Elias, a collective whose prior works speak for themselves. Opening cut “First Degree” is more that simply an introduction piece, offering up an eerie 911 call that bleeds horror movie atmosphere before breaking into its stride with your classic mosh pit friendly breakdown that hits like something from Traitors. Its so downright ugly, it grabs the attention immediately while not re-inventing the wheel in any way, shape or form. Throwing another log on the fire to increase the intensity “1000 Cuts” flips the script to introduce a Symphonic Blackened Deathcore vibe with blast beats, slam vocal parts and buried synths to accompany the throat splitting vocals. A vicious, venoms cut in every sense of those words, it slaps the naysayers with sinister rumbling bass and riffs that cut like a butchers knife. The downtempo breakdown in the final third is the kind of sonic assault on the senses that puts you in a hospital if you’re in the pit.

There were always going to be guest appearances and having Blake Kinnamon of 9 Dead on “Cease To Exist” opens up a realm of touring possibilities. The cut itself throws back stylistically to those much loved early Dr Acula albums with a tasteful gang chant passage in amongst the violent turbulence of chugs and bounce. “Five Ways To Hide A Dead Body” finds Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher join the action for a murderous endeavour front loaded with samples and blood spitting slam vocal parts. Once again going downtempo in the second half, the track becomes the kind of guilty pleasure that we all love from the heavy end of Deathcore with the kit performance from Gauntz that is all that an then some. The fills in his pummelling percussion are imaginative and well thought out, driving the band forward with clever tempo shifts in the process. As a band Peacemaker go out for blood with finale “It’s Called A Revolver, Frank“, a track that takes the best of the EP as a whole and puts it in one easy to swallow capsule. A whirlwind of destructive power that rolls up to the parade like a tank, it’s a skull crusher from start to finish, the churning nightmarish riffs bringing it all home to roost [8/10]

Track Listing

1. First Degree
2. 1000 Cuts
3. Cease To Exist (ft. Blake Kinnamon of 9 Dead)
4. Five Ways To Hide A Dead Body (ft. Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher)
5. It’s Called A Revolver, Frank

“First Degree” by Peacemaker was released on 20th May via Been There Scene That and is available over at bandcamp