Winds Of Plague reviewed
Winds Of Plague
Decimate The Weak
(Century Media)
“What the fuck is up motherfuckers? This is Winds Of Plague on that 2008 shit.”
That is Winds Of Plague frontman Johnny Plague’s intro to “Reloaded.” Still want to hear the rest of the album?
Luckily Weak isn’t as Limp Bizkit-dumb as that intro hints. There are some creative moments on this, the band’s Century Media debut and second overall full-length, album. Like their Southern California metal brethren Bleeding Through, Winds Of Plague utilize moody keyboards effectively, which helps break up the routine bludgeoning of the title track and “Legions.” In fact, if you’ve always had a soft spot for Bleeding Through but wish they were more gritty and less pretty, Winds Of Plague are basically a bloodier (“I want to cut you open like a fucking pig/peel away the flesh/and drain out your veins,” Plague growls on “The Impaler”) version of that group.
But also like Bleeding Through, Winds Of Plague have a lot of trouble breaking bad metalcore habits — the title track would be one long breakdown if it weren’t for Matt Fineman’s keyboard relief, and Johnny Plague’s rudimentary death metal grunts get real old real fast. Some 2008 shit? More like some 2004.
– Trevor Fisher
Click here to download Winds Of Plague’s “The Impaler.”
