Time Signature Artwork of nature...

Genre: blackmetalcore

Black metal and metalcore – especially the more melodic and poppy variant of the genre – must surely be totally irreconcilable. Well, not if you ask the mysterious human-hating pro-animal band The Way of Purity who on Equate combine elements from those two genres.

Thus, the opening track 'Artwork of Nature' starts out with a metalcore breakdown-style groove before morphing into a black metal-style tremolo-picking-and-blast-beating passage. Drawing on the tense harmonies of black metal and the melody of melodic metalcore, wrapping it in layered guitars, The Way of Purity blend all of these elements into a quite compelling track in the form of this opener. While a lot of the tracks on the album definitely are interesting, I do not think that The Way of Purity manage to keep the same level of intensity throughout, and we see this already in the second track 'Death Abound Everywhere', which is more of a rhythm-based metalcore affair – complete with melodic and atmospheric keyboards, and, while there are some goodies and a brief blastbeat section in this track, it does not quite reach the same level of excellence as the opener. Throughout the album Way of Purity go back and forth between black metal intensity and the focusz on groove and melody known from melodic metalcore, often combining fluid dissonant guitars with more muscular metalcore breakdown-ish grooves. At their most melodic, Way of Purity inject an almost poplike dimension of melody into their music, which sometimes even have an alternative rock feel to it, while at other times entering into gothic metal territory.

The level of intensity is, as mentioned, a bit uneven, and I think that the more intense tracks actually to the less intensive ones a disservice, as the less intense tracks come across weaker than they actually are. On the other hand, the album is musically quite varied which is definitely a plus to many listeners. The danger is, however, that, in combining as diverse genres as black metal and melodic metalcore, the album might be rejected by most camps – the black metallers might reject it for being too poppy and the metalcore kids for being too harsh and intense. Personally, while I generally enjoy this album, I am not a big fan of the more pop-oriented inclinations on Equate, as I prefer the heavier and more aggressive elements.

For a band who sort a very brutal image, wearing balaclavas, refering to themselves as militant, happily posing for photo shoots depicting them doing various acts of misogynistic violence, and hoping for the day that mankind will meets its gory end, Way of Purity's music is incredibly melodic. While I do not really care for their frankly somewhat ridiculous image, their music - and that is the crux of the matter - is undeniably quite good, and, if you can accept the integration of the different styles mentioned above, then you are in for quite a ride.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

J-Man Multi-national extreme metal act The Way of Purity are probably best known for their oddball views about the superiority of animal species over humans, which even includes a hope that humans are driven extinct and the world can once again be ruled by nature and animals alone. While I can't help but think of this worldview as anything but ridiculous, I guess ridiculous viewpoints in heavy metal music have been accepted for plenty of years - after all, does this really make any less sense than the Satanic zombie cult necrophiliac bong-ripping ritual lyrics that have been present in extreme variants of metal since its inception? Probably not, and while I tend to think that the band's viewpoints are probably a bit 'tongue-in-cheek', it doesn't have any actual impact on the music.

Speaking of the music, that's where The Way of Purity really shines. Biteback is a pretty short EP that was released in mid-2011, and gives a pretty good insight into the band's style. To my ears, it sounds like a nice mix between melodic death metal, metalcore, and industrial metal. Though these three genres mixed together typically tend to sound too 'polished' for my liking, there's a lot of raw aggression on Biteback even though it does have a very sleek production. The growled female vocals are just as powerful as I demand from an extreme metal release, and I'm also a big fan of the melodic elements that frequently creep into The Way of Purity's music; although it's often backed up by heavy groove-based riffage, the melodic aspect gives all of the songs a strong sense of memorability.

At only nine minutes long, Biteback is on the shorter side, but this is definitely a good example of 'quality over quantity'. While It's nothing too groundbreaking, Biteback is an excellent example of extreme metal music that is both melodic and extremely heavy. This high-quality EP has definitely sparked my interest in discovering the rest of The Way of Purity's discography.

UMUR "Biteback" is an EP release by multinational metalcore/melodic death metal act The Way of Purity. The EP was released through WormHoleDeath Records in May 2011. The Way of Purity are known for their radical and at times controversial political views about animal rights and their superiority over humans. While such a viewpoint is to some extent sympathetic enough, it´s also utopian IMO and slightly silly. But then again singing about the superiority of Satan or a zombie holocaust are probably just as silly to some people, so who´s the silly one here?

...with that out of the way the band are actually a very well playing unit, playing something that can be described as a croos between melodic death metal in the vein of Arch Enemy (the fact that The Way of Purity features a growling female vocalist that sounds a lot like Angela Gossow only strengthens this link) and metalcore/deathcore. The three tracks on the 9:12 minutes long EP are all quality material to my ears allthough the band don´t exactly differentiate themselves a whole lot from other contemporary acts playing this style.

To my great (and positive) surprise the music on "Biteback" is actually more a melodic death metal release than a metalcore/deathcore ditto, which was what I was expecting, and listening to the EP has been a positive experience. I´d say a 3.5 star rating is warranted.