Shrapnel

Torn From Existence

Death metal, corpse metal, thrash: Makes 1980s Metallica sound almost quaint. Shrapnel’s sophomore release, Torn From Existence, opens immediately metallic with “Counterpart,” singer Aaron Canady evincing a dollop of Hetfield gristle. Canady’s a lot less successful when he’s singing (“Nameless Being”) rather than throating, the otherwise solid title track undercut by vocal melodics, whereas its instrumentalism lays down ear-tugging progressions. The frontman’s guitar smithery, in tandem with brother Evan Canady, shit-storms most effective on steel girder “Bridge the Gap,” while backup “Force-Fed” filigrees six-string harmonies. The emo interludes of “Buried Facedown” are problematic, as is the collision of old-school hard rock and nü-school metallurgy, but “I Live My Way” returns to Ulrich mode, its thrust rolling thoroughly downhill before the plug’s pulled at six minutes. One can imagine the 10-minute version more satisfying. Singing, melody, acoustics, and a firebrand solo finally smelt down perfectly for the Austin quartet on “Hollow Body.”

**.5

This article appears in February 8 • 2008.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.