Renounced - Conditioned From Birth - Tape (2013)

Labels: Atonement
Review by: MH

First of all, I should admit that I rarely listen to much music as heavy as this so there may be little in the way of valid reference points in this review but it’s been in the digital list for a while now and I think it’s worth talking about. (EDIT: It has been in my Drafts since 25/8/13 and just unleashed today! Probably my biggest sin as a CZ reviewer). In fact, I’ve listened to it a whole bunch of times. What brought me to this band initially was the link to Bird Calls but this time around things are much heavier and with more of a metal and hardcore influence. The riffs are vicious and siren-esque at times, while the vocals are harsh. Although this kind of lumbers along pacewise it’s still pummelling. One of the reasons that this is appealing to me so much is that I’m hearing some hints of emo buried in some of the breakdowns in these tracks and that is where they really excel with the moves from the spoken word sections back into the crushing riffs and viciousness. I think it’s really good.