DON’T LET THE BAND NAME FOOL YOU: WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH AREN’T DEATHCORE AND THEY DON’T SUCK

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 9:45am by

war from a harlots mouth - in shoalsOK, maybe they are just a little deathcore. But they certainly don’t suck; 10 seconds into their new record In Shoals (out now on Lifeforce), I was already reconsidering my preconceived notions about this horribly-monikered German band. Where most modern death metal bands bite the riffs of Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse and mix them with large helpings of generic breakdowns, War From A Harlots Mouth (PS: What happened to that apostrophe, guys?) take their cues from headier bands like Meshuggah, Atheist, Dillinger Escape Plan, the very occasional Psyopus-style jazz freakout, and whatever other bands influenced the current Obscura/Psycroptic/Arsis axis of tech-death. Yeah, they sprinkle in breakdowns every now and then, but it’s less “let’s slow it down for the karate-chop kids in the pit” and more “this part fits perfectly right here.” Whatever it is, it’s extremely well-executed and it’s music for people who like their music a little more… complicated. Chops, chops and more chops, but shit — songs too!

Check ‘em out on MySpace and watch their video for “Crooks At Your Door” below. 

-VN

War from a Harlots Mouth – crooks at your door from simon wfahm on Vimeo.

  • Johnny

    Nothing special here at all. Boring.

    • Tyler

      so true

  • http://www.reigninblog.de Razze

    eine of the best german bands out there. but I liked the first record better, probably will get into this one soon, has to grow, who knows.
    I’m curious if ms will review the new neaera

  • jonowev

    Great little band. Saw them last month on the UK leg of the Thrash and Burn tour.

  • http://runningthevoodoodown.blogspot.com pdf

    I like the new album better than the last one, but that might have been a result of a bad PR campaign; the press release I got on the first one hyped up the “jazz” angle to a degree that I, as someone who actually listens to a shit-ton of jazz, found annoying considering that these guys were basically a proggy/tech-y deathcore band with ambitions. This one seems a little better put together to my ear, though, so I’m willing to forgive misguided early hype.

  • bombs away

    pretty good shit, glad to see them get some publicity here

  • builtforsin

    This band = the suck.

    Drummer is super weak.

    Also the scene girls in this video are not eve hot!

    /fail

  • relaxiknowarchie

    AHHHHH the drums are attacking me!!!! why are they so front and center in the mix. bleah…

  • Will Simmons

    I may have a new guilty pleasure. These guys look like turdmunchers and I will never proudly announce that I even know they exist. I’ll be checking out the album, though.

  • Bill

    fucking metal.

  • I hate you

    The person who wrote this article knows nothing about music.

  • I hate you

    I bet you haven’t played a fucking lick in your life. And I can bet that they still live in mom’s basement!

  • yep.

    probably not the best song to go along with your review.

    I honestly don’t see anything special here. Typical breakdown deathcore, that makes a 3 minute song feel like a song that’s never going to end.

  • dr j

    I’ve had this on my iTunes for a while, but never cared to give it a listen. I will tonight.

  • Poland.

    Man I totally forgot about these guys. Good stuff for the most part.

  • http://myspace.com/thedivinefamily Garry Divine

    hmm… told you about this about a year ago, before the second album… haven’t heard it completely, but I think I like the first one better…
    Their singer, Nico Weber, used to sing for The Ocean, too. Parted ways with them couple o months back.

    • Malacoda

      Actually, I think he’s still with them. Mike Pilat parted ways with them recently.

  • Malacoda

    Finally someone else who appreciates them! The first album was way better though.

  • Uglymicrowave

    There older shit was better with there older singers…but since they got nico from THE OCEAN…they havent lived up to there last recordnings maybe b/c nico’s voice is fucking weak compared to the older singers…

    nothing beats the falling upstairs EP…

    this is one of the best german bands out there

  • Sammy

    I’m finding myself not a fan at all of the “random super speedy lick stuck in random places with no relation to the song” style of so-called “prog” metal. But I didn’t mind the rest of the song.

  • http://www.thrashhits.com Hugh DoVoodoo

    The album’s a bit same-y. It has moments, but when they try to be experimental it ges a bit throwing-toys-out-the-pram

  • http://www.myspace.com/somethinglikesweet CJ

    Sweet. For two days in a row MetalSucks has introduced me to a cool new band. I’ll definitely be giving these guys some attention. Thanks Vince.

  • keepitwolf

    i liked these guys split cd then got their first full length and it sucked hard. but my friend has been hyping this new cd ill have to download cause that song wasnt awful. i like how they have more hardcore than most deathcore bands. didnt know that guy was in the ocean? the ocean destroys WFAHM

  • alex

    about as deathcore as it gets

    • Anselmowitz

      Yeah this is deathcore if I ever heard it. They even fade out on a fucking breakdown. This band & Psycroptic should never be in the same article.

  • HoustonC

    This band is terrible and I don’t see how you draw lines between them and any of the bands you mentioned in your article. All I hear is generic deathcore crap.

  • jaahn

    sounds like mid-90′s Victory Records-style metalcore to me. Deadguy called, and they want their songs back.

  • facefacefack

    Bad.

  • Rainer

    Their language don’t use apostrophes for possession. Probably intentional since the Germans are incapable of oversight.