At Cornerstone I was lucky enough to see a couple of these cds laying on the Takehold table. So, I asked the guys behind the table about it. One of the guys said that the guy from Akeldama was selling them but had left so I couldn't buy one. Then he thought for a minute and decided to sell me his so I could get it. I'm very thankful that he did. Both bands on here are very good.
Castahead starts off the cd with their three studio recorded songs. The first song gets pretty old rather quick. It sounds to me like they are trying too hard for an almost over-the-top metal sound. However, by the second song they settle down a little bit and sound much better. The third song is average. Although I don't listen to Cave In much, that's who Castahead reminds me of the most. Imagine Cave In with vocals that are more death-ish (almost barked) and a bit more emphasis on the chaotic metal side than technical metal side and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Castahead. Overall, Castahead has a good bit of potential and I hope they use it in the future. But for now, Castahead does decently for their debut. The drumming is pretty tight as well as the guitars. Again, not bad but they aren't resting with the metal of Zao and Underoath just yet.
Intercede is something unique. I hesitate to say that because I know someone will listen to them and say, "unique?! they sound just like..." Like Castahead, you can tell these guys have potential. However, I think Intercede does very well for a newer band. The vocals sound layered, which is cheap but it works. The first song by Intercede is actually their worst. The second is a bit better. By the time they get to their third song, Intercede has really worked up something good. Thirteen/Sixteen is really a very good song, complete with a creepy sample in the beginning. It ends with something that sounds like a bunch of hardcore kids worshipping, it's awesome and long (over 7 minutes). For the most part, Intercede's songs are good in parts. By that I mean, if you don't like what you are hearing at the moment, give it a second and the song will get better. The good parts are great and the not so good parts are still better than most. Intercede is not a band to be ignored.
The cd concludes with a live track from both bands. As if the production on the studio songs wasn't lacking enough, the sound quality on the live songs gets almost annoying. But, if you can get past it, the live songs are a cool addition. The Intercede song is very good. The Castahead vocals are different on the live track. At times they sound like poor black metal. Other times, they sound pretty good. Castahead also should have recorded this song in the studio. Although it's short, it may be their best on the disc.
8/10
