Maximum Metal Rating Legend

With Passion - In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil - 2005 - Earache Records

Track Listing 1. Trainwreck Orchestra 2. Last Scripture, The 3. Scorpion's Dance, The 4. Darkness Doth Bring Mortality 5. Forlorn Hope 6. Prophecies Of Hellfire, The 7. Coniferous War, A 8. Theory Of An Evening Sky, The

Sacramento California's With Passion is a very complex math-core metal band that hints at melody and intricate arrangements while pummeling the listener with blast beats, stomp riffs, twin guitar dynamics, and progressive delivery. The band was formed in 2002 and released their debut EP in 2004 entitled "In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil". The group picked up a contract with Euro metal giant Earache Records in 2005 and the label threw a couple of extra tracks on the EP and reissued the record as the group's first full-length album. Sort of an interesting way to release a group's debut but nonetheless here it is.

The band is fronted by Fidel Campos, who uses a real rough black metal voice over these technical sounds. Often Campos reminds me of the early days of the Gothenburg death metal scene of Sweden crossed with the venomous sounds of Norway. Backing Campos is the ear candy of the group, guitarists John Abernathy and Jeff Morgan, who combine on some really wacko sounding melodic structures that are really all over the place within each song. Drummer Greg Donnelly sounds inhuman, bracing each cut with a backbreaking amount of double-bass and blast beat percussion. The end result leaves With Passion sounding like a cross between Manntis, Intronaut, and Absence.



--EC 06.24.07