Italian Death Thrashers Methedras have been in existence since 1996 with three full-lengths (two through record labels) and a demo in 1999. Much like their 2006 album The Worst Within, they return to unleash their fourth album themselves after five years of studio silence. Well, at least until they can find someone to officially distribute what the press release claims is “A deep voyage into the sacrifices made for a fake freedom, the blame of mankind for an imminent nuclear disaster, the last stand against misery and poverty, the strongest answer to our worst nightmares and an intimate hope for a final resurrection, without forgetting what is really important for every one of us: true friendship, good feelings, human dignity and mental sanity.” I actually didn’t know that bit when I decided to give it a quick spin a bit ago.

System Subversion immediately hit me as a Testament gone Death Metal, almost like the Demonic album but a little more intense for the most part when comparing the two. I also kept getting a bit of a Chimaira vibe at times, but back around their self-titled album when they were uncompromising and had a solid production quality behind them unlike their last effort. “You Got It” had this infliction the most, and the simpler chugging worked with the deeper tuning and what enthusiasm existed to make it one of my favorites that jumped between that world and some two-stepping from the drums that had me hooked.

Of course some of the breakdowns throughout didn’t help with that reference, though the much harsher “Deathocracy” had some traits of early Carnal Forge that was a nice touch, even if a bit inconsistent. Oh and of course there’s the obligatory Lamb of God influence on “Fallout.” I couldn’t get too into it but loved the way the guitars sounded during the bridges, as well as the harmonized vocals that skirt the line between rough and clean gave the chorus some moodiness. The guitar solo approaching four minutes sounded absolutely horrendous though until the cleaner notes kicked in. From this point on though, intentional or not I could still hear that band, which really began to bore me. No I can’t say System Subversion is a fresh album but damn sounding like Lamb of God or Pantera is older than one-note female “Gothic” Rock groups that think they are Evanescence or Hailstorm. You’re not, you don’t, do something different the two of ya’!

I give System Subversion points for the solid start, but after a while I couldn’t help but hear it start to go downhill and become incredibly unoriginal just from two quick spins. Even going back while typing this and checking some of the later tracks out again to make sure I wasn’t going nuts earlier I’m still hearing it. Although “Distorted Emotion” is one of the better ones. System Subversion is due for release August 15th and, as I write this, it’s August 1st and there’s nothing from the album available to hear other than a teaser trailer (which you can see above) and their two previous albums streaming on their SoundCloud page which I guess is better than nothing at this point of the recordings impending release…

Oh, right, and if you’re interested in releasing this album, reach out to [email protected].

Digital review material for this article provided by Methedras via Clawhammer PR.