3.
Contention
Artillery from Heaven
Underground straight edge crazies Contention have come out swinging with a truly fantastic debut record. Operating somewhere along the hardcore/metalcore borderline, Artillery from Heaven is a thunderous assault on the senses. At times it travels at light speed – those kinetic punk influences are never very far away. But elsewhere it delivers chugging, rolling metal, calling to mind the likes of mid-90s Pantera or Machine Head. The best tracks here – like ‘Inflict My Will’, or album standout ‘I.C.B.M.’ – mix the two strands of Contention’s DNA: rocketing along franticly before breaking down into rumbling, head-nodding groove metal. Fast or slow, though, everything on Artillery from Heaven is deeply rooted in percussion. Its songs are built around a hammering double kick drum pedal and a detuned bass guitar. That meaty core allows for some unusual exploration from the band’s two duelling lead guitars, who serve up harmonised refrains that at times would be more common in thrash than metalcore. It’s a record that builds on various strands of punk and metal past, but always with a contemporary twist. And it’s one hell of a ride. At 21 minutes, Artillery from Heaven is small but perfectly formed. In, out, no weak tracks. Bam.
Huge kudos to the excellent Heavy Blog is Heavy – fast becoming the source for all things metal – for championing this album on its release in May. Contention haven’t yet gained much of a following beyond their local Tampa, FL straight edge scene (although surely that has to change soon). So I think there would probably have been little chance that I’d have found this brutal gem without HBiH’s help. I’ll have to send them the bills for my decimated eardrums.
Turns out that the best metalcore record this year – by a distance – had nothing whatsoever to do with Every Time I Die. Who would have thought? And with Ithaca announcing their split in late 2024 (still not over that news), an out of the blue classic like Artillery from Heaven gives me hope for the future of the genre.