Having suffered the ignominy of being asked to leave modern metal behemoths Trivium mid-tour, drummer Nick Augusto has wasted little time in pulling together a new project with old school friend Christopher Cussell, Corrosion, who within 12 months of forming, and despite the logistical difference of living in different continents (vocalist/bassist Tommy Hjelm and second guitarist Martin Rygge, both formerly of Intense, being based in Norway), have released their debut EP.
Yet, as the phrase goes, “marry in haste, repent at leisure”, and Augusto’s gusto may be a mis-step, as rushing out a debut release before developing a cohesive style and sound is a sure fire way to put people off and to bury your band. You only get one chance to create a first impression, and all that.
For while Corrosion (Mas Kina) may only be 3 songs, it’s a mess; hopping from Scandinavian based extremity, to ‘core, to chug, to groove, to Tech Metal, but forgetting to bring the songs with them. If it hasn’t been made clear, this is swimming in a different pool to Trivium, and possessing a progressive Thrash bent, but with the jarring juxtaposing sections and Hjelm’s vocals falling short of the standards you’d expect, slipping off key and losing bite in some of his barks, this trans-Atlantic proposition needs to head back to the drawing board and put some hard yards in, not just in terms of working out a style and what they’re trying to do, but also in how to bring their myriad ideas together while raising the overall standard of their output.
5.0/10
STEVE TOVEY