"Don't think--just listen," urges the press kit accompanying The Showdown's Mono vs. Stereo debut, A Chorus of Obliteration. Perhaps that's the best advice one can give for potential listeners. Without critically thinking about how comical the pseudo-demonic vocals sound, the music undulating beneath is metal incarnate -- double bass drum, screaming guitars, and thundering bass. Epic. Dirty. Visceral. Head-banging. No one can fault this band for their lack of passion.
Still, the vocal stylings, ala Norma Jean, Living Sacrifice ("A Chorus of Obliteration" was produced by Bruce Fitzhugh), GWAR and other throat-ripping powerhouses, just seems...silly. But I guess when you're singing about ash, hell, destruction, wrath, and spawning beasts of the earth, any other vocal approach just wouldn't seem valid.
Saving grace: The majority of the hauntingly beautiful acoustic closer, "Laid to Rest." David Burton can sing...beautifully...he just needs to do so throughout rather than sliding into campy death metal schlock.
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