WITHERED

Atlanta's WITHERED came bounding onto the scene with 2005's "Memento Mori", standing out on the Lifeforce roster with a style that took Sunlight Studios motoring death and combined it with a little sludge and bit of HIGH ON FIRE dirty pummel. Now on Prosthetic Records, "Folie Circulaire" shows the band expanding its sound without abandoning its ruthless attack.

The old school Swedish death metal continues to be present, albeit not in an overt kind of way, save for those moments that stomp with an up-tempo relentlessness. It can be heard in the destructive power of "Clamor Beneath", one of the album's better tracks. This particular cut features a vicious gallop and, as is the case with most of the tracks, smart arrangement changeups. Indeed, when the boys go for the throat — the dueling vocals of guitarists Chris Freeman and Mike Thompson included — the results are overwhelmingly heavy. At times, the power of KEELHAUL's style of crush can be heard as well. Even then, one can hear an increased emphasis on guitar-created atmosphere; the kind that reminds of ISIS' patented musical flows. The dynamic is such that it will take a few listens to fully appreciate, even if folks like myself are not quite as enamored with the progression from "Memento Mori". The band also excels at the creation of a variety of alluring guitar melodies, as well as the active bass lines of Mike Longoria. The choice to cover NECROPHOBIC's "Into Armageddon" was a good one, as the band delivers it with a bang to close out the album.

Perhaps what is most telling, at least to my ears, about WITHERED's development over these past several years is the fact that I didn't initially get "it" until several listens later. In other words, it is a bit of a grower. Aside from that, my only genuine complaint is with the mix. It is just not beefy enough and requires more attention to really pick up on the otherwise impressive guitar work and dark tones. Though the vocals for this style are not intended to be a focal point, I still found that the throat work needed to be a pinch higher in the mix (the appearance of NAPALM DEATH's Barney Greenway on "The Fated Breath" and "Clamor Beneath" definitely makes an impact though). It bothered me enough to consider dropping the score even further until I reconsidered based on the copious amounts of coolness going on here. Don't get me wrong, "Folie Circulaire" is a strong release and I suspect the mix won't bug others nearly as much.