Artist: Arsonists Get All The Girls
Album: Motherland
Genre: Deathcore
Label: Century Media

Under the increasingly broad umbrella that is “deathcore” few bands are as consistently fresh and excellent with their new releases as Arsonists Get All The Girls. Over the last five years the Arsonists sound has evolved ever so slightly, bridging the sillier side of the band’s music with the more serious aspect of their style. On Motherland this trend is continued as it is quite possibly the band’s most cohesive work to date.

Known mostly for having a sound associated closely with HORSE the Band from time to time, Arsonists escape that comparison quite often. Much like HORSE, Arsonists are a band with an incredibly distinctive sound and style, drawing heavily from the keyboard sound and erratic style changes amongst songs. The amount of styles put into one Arsonists album is pretty remarkable, considering it doesn’t come across as a bunch of garbled nonsense. Tastefully weaving together seemingly unrelated styles of music while showing their overwhelming technical prowess, Arsonists are at the top of their game.

Though Motherland has a lot of interesting things about it, perhaps the most intriguing thing is that it has the ability to appeal to many different types of extreme music lovers. If you’re looking for some fun breakdowns to get wild in the pit to, there’s some of that. If you’re looking for really interesting harmonies between instruments, there’s some of that too. As a tone junkie, this album also has a lot to offer.

One of the few downfalls of Motherland, however, is that it all seems a bit too calculated. Part of what makes Arsonists as great as they are is the outlandish and wild nature of it all, but with the cohesiveness increasing the insanity seems to be dwindling a bit. Whether it is because the the shifts are less erratic or because there’s less noodling on guitar, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s beginning to feel a bit formulaic.

You would be remiss to pass on this album, as it is a truly unique listening experience (much like the band’s other three albums). The experience is best if you begin with a truly open mind. Starting the listening experience expecting anything will do you or this album any justice whatsoever.

Score: 8/10
Review written by: Jordan Munson

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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