Darkness Dynamite - The Astonishing Fury of Mankind: Metal's past meets its future

June 15, 8:00 PMHeavy Metal ExaminerMark Morton

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As one looks at the extreme metal community in 2009, several things are happening. Older, more established bands are enjoying a bit of credibility and renewed vigor thanks to an odd widespread acceptance of the artform, and younger bands are making names for themselves by blending elements from various metallic genres into their own bloody mary (sometimes virgin, and sometimes very dirty). We are even seeing it in the mosh pits, where once stomped the rhythmic war dances of the old school now sees kids wildly thrashing about as if throwing temper tantrums – and they’re wearing backpacks??? Are kids coming directly from school to metal shows? I don’t know, and I don’t care to understand.

However, because a new generation of metalheads is pushing its way onto the scene, it needs something to call its own. The 1980s had thrash & speed metal, the 1990s had death and black metal, and now, this new decade (which is ironically drawing quickly to a close) has metalcore and deathcore. Both of these “genres” are called as such because they cull inspiration from thrash, death, speed, and traditional heavy metal, and mix them wantonly with the super-screamo, mega-mosh-riffery of modern hardcore.

What I find so hilarious is that some of the credit for developing the deathcore genre goes to vintage acts like Suffocation, Repulsion, and Dying Fetus – all of whom, until today, were filed in with the death metal category. Oddly enough, most bands are called deathcore because they incorporate groove into the death metal formula – which was actually a staple of East Coast death metal from the late 1980s on. So does that mean that every death metal band that came from the East Coast was actually a deathcore band without knowing it? This is where that distinction becomes a little silly.

To be completely honest, the primary difference I see between this new crop of bands and the old guard is entirely image. Where the older bands used to look like sewer-scrubbed, scum of the earth, the new kids look like freshly cleansed, nicely-moussed, prim and proper suburban tenth graders rebelling against their lawyer & doctor parents. On top of that, they seem obsessed with merchandise. Bands like Born of Osiris and Suicide Silence, in an opening-act position, may offer up 15 different t-shirt designs, as well as lighters, Frisbees, bottle openers, and anything else they can slap their names on. Now, I’m all for marketing ingenuity, but the way these guys try to dominate a merch booth is slightly disturbing.

However, music journalism being what it is, with writers becoming less and less creative with how they describe this constant flood of new artists, slapped a stamp on it, and the kids are eating it up. And while I try not to subscribe to these ridiculous labels that the Hot Topic generation consumes like ice cream (black ice cream, of course), it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid using the term. Prior to these categories, we used to explain how these bands sounded quite succinctly – technical death metal, death metal with heavy mosh parts, thrash metal with hardcore vocals, etc.

But then, I am introduced to a band from France called Darkness Dynamite. They recently signed to Metal Blade Records and last week (June 9) released their full length debut, The Astonishing Fury of Mankind. On paper, they really don’t come across as anything special. But the way the band incorporates its influences makes for quite an engaging listening session. They honestly are a culmination of their individual influences, and the music reflects it in a visceral, throat-slicing manner.

As the first track “Supernatural” kicks in, one might get the impression of a Machine Head clone (but more on the Grip Inc. side), and I think this song may have been designed as the single, due to its mid-tempo, circle-pit-friendly anthem-ness. Then the second track comes in, “Hell Eve Hate”, which might very well be “Supernatural: Part II”, though more hardcore-ish, with a bit of that old-fashioned p***-n-vinegar Biohazard attitude. But that all changes mid-track, when the Hatebreed-cum-Fear Factory breakdown slams your head into the floor.

And that is basically how the album progresses. The next track is slightly more intense, bitter, faster, and rip-roaring than the last – until you find yourself doing windmills in your basement/bedroom/backyard/office, or wherever you enjoy your metal. There are even parts of the album that make you fondly reminisce on the excellence of mid-90s Pantera, which now seems so long ago.

Every track on The Astonishing Fury of Mankind juxtaposes and integrates several of metal’s heavier genres simultaneously, but the band wields this sword with great care, and the songs do not sound sloppy, nor do they suffer from the abrupt time-shifts that befall their neo-progressive cousins.

Digging back, I learned that the band had more of a Hypocrisy-like death metal fervor on their 2007 EPs, even going so far as to incorporate sinisterly-heavy grooves and a bit of the ol’ pig-squealing, a la Misericordiam or Skinless. And while those earlier releases appealed to me a little more, as I find myself more attuned to the darker, more gruesome-sounding metal, I can appreciate that the band wanted to grow artistically and not dwell in a cavern, as it were. And to be completely fair, I believe that Darkness Dynamite’s new album has some merit that will definitely appeal to fans of older and modern thrash, metalcore and the death metal peoples alike. Because that’s what metal is ultimately about, right? Unity!

Track listing for The Astonishing Fury of Mankind includes:

1. Supernatural
2. Hell Eve Hate
3. Immersion Inner Nation
4. $15
5. Chasing Inside
6. A Simple Taste Of...
7. Vice!
8. By My Own
9. Dare I Say
10. The Everlasting Grace Of Mind
11. The Astonishing Fury Of Mankind 

For more info: visit Darkness Dynamite at their official MySpace page and at Metal Blade Records.