Fearer
Descent

3.5
great

Review

by combustion07 USER (74 Reviews)
May 21st, 2010 | 33 replies

Release Date: 2003 | Tracklist

Review Summary: "Look at our cool spider logo!!!"

Fearer is a death metal band that formed in 1995. They released their last full length in 2005 and then called it quits because they couldn't find a dedicated drummer. They never garnered much attention within the death metal community. The band manages to incorporate melody into their formula while maintaining a crushing sound. Throughout the album two vocal styles are used, highs and lows. Thomas Zorn's highs sound almost identical to John Tardy's trademark sound, it almost seems like Tardy came in the studio with them and layed down a few lines that they peppered in throughout the Descent. While Zorn's range may not be mindblowing he gives an electric performance and delivers with a great deal of consistence until the record stops spinning.

The guitarwork on the album is simple but interesting to say the least. The tempo changes are very well done and the melodies aren't overdone. Fearer has two gears on Descent, essentially fast tremelo picking and chunky riffs are what consist as the bulk of the album. The band never allows any cooling off time and pummels you from beginning to end. Some excellent solos are thrown in here and there, they are short but sweet and remain very cohesive with the song.

That being said towards the end the album does tend to drag in places. This could've been avoided if Fearer would have experimented more with their song structures. For the most part they do stick to a very similar structure, this could be forgiven if the band was just starting out and not wanting to leave their comfort zone, but when considering the band had eight years of experience when the album was recorded it may begin to seem like they don't plan on changing up their formula that has some minor flaws. Once again a death metal band chooses to drown the bass player out of the mix. The peer pressure gets them everytime, but not to worry considering how chunky the riffs are and the thick sound the band already has the lack of bass doesn't take too much away from the sound of the album.

If you are looking for blastbeats this album might just be the perfect piece to your puzzle. The blasting is plentiful and fits the music well. While there could have been a bit more variation in the drum patterns it doesn't take much away from the overall sound of the album. The production is executed with a certain amount of perfection that isn't often heard on unknown death metal records. Sure overall Fearer doesn't do anything groundbreaking on Descent, but they do churn out a quality slab of death metal that deserves more attention than it receives (which is virtually none). Overall Descent gets a 3.5 out of 5, this album isn't something you are going to want to listen to in its entirety everyday but it is very effective in small doses. Recommended for fans of death metal that doesn't turn you into a gay.

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