Artas – Riotology

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Back in 2008 Hungary’s Artas won Metalcamp’s battle of the bands competition, and with it a record deal, with their infectious combination of the thrash-groove Max Cavalera bands and the modern ultra-heavy metal sound of the likes of Every Time I Die, and the deal they won with Napalm Records now brings a second release. But what Artas have now done is strip away the combination of influences which gave them their own sound (which even enabled them to turn Coolio‘s Gangster’s Paradise into a metal song – and there are hints of the feel they gave that cover here in tracks like Gipfelst¨rmer and Rassenhass) and put out a record that is really just another melodic death metal record complete with the very-obviously-modern melodic vocals that all melodic death and deathcore bands have. There’s a bit of groove on The Suffering of John Doe (but not much), and a huge slab of Cavalera influence on No Pasarán, which recurs on all of the songs they sing in Hungarian. Various instrumental breaks, fills and segues demonstrate just how good Artas can be, and the breath of sounds they can create, but none of them last long enough or are used often enough to change the complexion of the album, which is one of tired modern extreme metal sounds. The one aspect here that is different from The Healing, and does stand them apart, is when they do songs in their native tongue. The way the language’s structure seems to encourage them try different rhythms and melodies and these songs are a hughe improvement on all of the ones sung in English. Essentially though, Artas have abandoned what could have developed into their musical identity and are much weaker for it.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Heavy Metal (Extreme Vocals), Quick.Play Reviews, Artas