![]() A prog-minded act that combines grindcore and Amphetamine Reptile-era noise with the artier shades of hardcore and death metal, Yautja doesn't just stack hairpin turn after hairpin turn-an approach that was tired by technical death metal's mid-'90s peak. With their debut album, last year's Songs of Descent, Nashville trio Yautja (named after the extraterrestrial creature from the Predator film series) reminds us that what we think of as metal today can be as boundless and mutable as the range that jazz had encompassed by 1970. Not to mention that rampant sectarianism fosters a mentality where superficial differences between camps become paramount and crossing barriers becomes a transgression.Įvery now and again, though, a band comes along that sidesteps these conventions. To make matters worse, today we're swarmed by retro-obsessed bands hell-bent on recreating the vibe and tone of, well, name any year and heavy metal subgenre. Anytime a Meshuggah or Dillinger Escape Plan comes along, you can bet dime-a-dozen imitators will cheapen the impact of their innovations. That said, it's still rare when an act genuinely succeeds at altering the meta-structure of the form. Metal bands have always pushed themselves to be faster, heavier, more challenging, and more musically dextrous than their predecessors. Technical progress is vital to metal's character.
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