Nebraska Metal Pt. 5: Deadechoes: Case File I: The Dead Will Walk

I am always on the lookout for metal bands from my home state of Nebraska. I first heard about Deadechoes some time last year when they were a part of some Next Big Metal Band contest through various independent record stores and handpicked by Brian Slagel of Metal Blade.

Deadechoes definitely has a more modern approach to metal, blending influences from thrash metal, death metal, groove metal, and some nu-metal as well. That is probably more a function of where they developed as Nebraska is hopelessly several years behind the times and is one of the few places where nu-metal bands are still very popular. Nevertheless, the band does combine their influences reasonably well and the music is still quite interesting. The better tracks are the more clearly metal ones, while tracks like the very Mudvayne-esque "Everything" tend to bring things down a bit.

The vocals are delivered in a harsh yell with some clean vocals thrown in for good measure. The earlier Mudvayne reference is probably the best comparison vocally, along with Slipknot's Corey Taylor. The riffs are typically reminiscent of groove metal era Machine Head and Pantera. There are some industrial elements and electronics thrown in occasionally and the bass is a driving force in the riffs.

This particular album from Deadechoes is a bit heavy on the nu-metal side, with some definite metal riffs present, but also quite a bit of the dreaded 1990's genre present. I would still argue it is clearly a metal album, but it is pretty close. The band did focus more on the metal riffs on their next album though.

It is not a bad album, but it all depends on your view of nu-metal influences in metal bands.