RECOIL: The Will to Sin

Produced by Recoil

Released: 2010

Sydney's Recoil has been around since 2002, maintaining the same line-up the whole time. That in itself is a pretty remarkable achievement not too many others can lay claim to. You would expect that a group this stable would be able to really churn out a pretty decent bunch of tracks, and The Will to Sin certainly doesn't disappoint.

"The Rope" builds ominously towards the first proper track, the aggression-fuelled, groove-driven metallic roar of "Crowned on the Way Down" that sets the tone for the violence to come. With a classic, no frills approach, Recoil aren't reinventing any wheels here but they're definitely keeping it real. Every track is solid fist-pumping, headbanging material that doesn't waste time with extended instrumental noodling, drastic time-signature changes or dramatic displays of technicality. Somewhere, these guys were described as death metal/deathcore, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Essentially, this is textbook heavy metal: chunky riffs, catchy grooves, raw, angry vocals and driving beats. If there's a real criticism, it's only that they do this so convincingly that you find yourself actually wanting them to do something else. And then they do: the instrumental break "El Dia mas Triste" appears like a rose between thorns late in the playlist, a track of striking beauty and emotion that both belies the otherwise savage nature of Recoil's music and elevates it beyond the rudimentary but effective metal bludgeoning of the rest of the album.

Recoil has obviously invested every moment of their eight years together into making The Will to Sin the best debut they could possibly deliver, and they have succeeded. Anyone seeking pure, unadorned metal that's good need look no further.

1. The Rope
2. Crowned on the Way Down
3. Immortal
4. Scarification
5. Road to Redemption
6. This Winter
7. The Hole
8. …and a Hard Place
9. What Solution?
10. El dia mas Triste
11. Within a Curse
12. Suicide Trip

Rating: 80%