 
Where this super group came from I will never
know, but in all fairness they are cropping up
all over the place nowadays. This one in particular
has me excited, seeing as its Matt Tuck (Bullet
for my Valentine), Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats),
Mike Kingswood (Glamour of the Kill), Joe Copcutt
(ex-Rise to Remain) and Jason Bowld (Pitchshifter).
The amount of money I’ve spend on Rise to
Remain, Glamour of the Kill, Cancer Bats and Bullet
for my Valentine over the years borders on the
obsessive, but after being severely disappointed
by I Am War after being overly excited for months
on end, I am quite weary of listening to this
album in case it affects how I feel towards the
other acts afterwards.
I needn’t have worried as I am more than
impressed with what I’ve heard here, even
though it feels very strange to hear Cormier’s
vocals on anything other than Cancer Bats material
as every time I hear him it just cries out to
me. Opener “Vultures” even includes
Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold on guest
guitars and it’s not the type of song I
would associate with any members involved, except
for Cormier as this does have a certain feeling
to it that links it to Cancer Bats and I have
to say it’s mostly in the guitar tones and
riffs with “Vultures”. It’s
not too similar though it’s more like your
straight up aggressive metal, as the album goes
on too this begins to fade as “Blood Money
and Lies” is like an evil destructive version
of Tuck’s main project Bullet For My Valentine.
“Exochrist” when it kicks off you
would struggle to believe it wasn’t a new
BFMV single, in fact with the exception of Cormier’s
vocals that is exactly what it could pass off
as just a heavier approach. Don’t get me
wrong I’m not saying this is a bad thing
nor that it’s got a connection to Cancer
Bats, in fact it’s amazing! “Collide”
though is very interesting, it’s a very
distinctive style, it’s dramatic with eerie
elements with both clean and growled vocal lines
filling it up which appears to be like a collision
of all the different musical backgrounds coming
together, makes for an interesting listen. The
best song on the album in my personal opinion
is “Destroy” as it’s so far
detached from any labels they have associated
them it can actually be called “Axewound’s
distinctive style”, it’s bouncy heavy
and catchy as hell!
This album may not be the greatest album of the
decade, or even the year for that matter but I
can say that for a new band it’s an extremely
promising start with some of the tracks I can
see making a regular appearance on my iPod whilst
at the gym. With it being a super group I’m
not expecting this to be like a proper band releasing
constant albums and touring all the time it will
probably be a once in a while thing which is good,
because as the material improves, absence will
make the heart grow fonder.
4/5
Review by James Webb
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