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FOR THE SHOWDOWN, HEAVIER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER

 Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 12:30pm by

the showdown

I kind of lost track of The Showdown over the past couple of years. I absolutely loved their 2007 southern-metal-meets-cock-rock Temptation Comes My Way because of the way the band so seamlessly mixed those two styles and melded them into a cohesive, song-focused effort. Their 2008 release Back Breaker was significantly more aggro and heavied the fuck up; gone were the Motley Crue-inspired guitar riffs and hip-swingin’ Southern grooves, and in their place was a whole lotta aggressive, downtuned riffing and double-bass drumming. Despite Back Breaker being a perfectly fine effort — and despite the fact that heavier is usually a good thing — I just couldn’t get into it as much as I had Temptation.

Two years later The Showdown are back with another full-length in Blood In The Gears (August 24th, Solid State); the title track and, most recently, “Heavy Lies the Crown” are both available on their MySpace page. The songs are in the heavier, more modern vein the band moved to with Back Breaker, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it just doesn’t have the same appeal to me as Temptation Come My Way. I know a lot of folks love the band’s pre-Temptation album A Chorus of Obliteration and for them these last two albums probably mark a welcomed return to form… but not for this guy.

Oh well. Tell me why I’m wrong in the comments.

-VN

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  • the vredesbyrd

    Totally agree. There were some arena-cock rock inspired tunes on Temptation…that completely ruled

  • CrapMcPoopin

    I like The Showdown’s heavier fare, but Temptation tunes are about all that still get played by me.

  • Isaac

    They have stuff OTHER than downtuned shit?!?! I shall have to check this out!

  • Andy Synn

    “Temptation…” was kind of hit and miss for me, certain songs just don’t catch fire, regardless of the stylistic change (which I didn’t mind and works in context of the long-view of things over their career).

    “Back-Breaker” gets a LOT of play however still.

    • Cisco

      I just listened to Back Breaker yesterday and I will probably listen to it again today. That record ruled. Temptation is solid through and through, but I have to be in certain mood to put that record on… like a party mood or something.

  • Gustavo

    Seu flamer de merda….só fala merda…puta que paril.

  • http://www.metalblessingradio.com Metal Blessing

    I say “To each their own”. I enjoyed all of The Showdown’s albums thus far, but Temptation Come my way, while it felt like a random turn after Chorus of Obliteration is an album I have to really be in the mood for.

    Back Breaker is probably my favorite Showdown album simply because I love the Pantera-esque guitar riffing, and the vocals (I love his low guttural vocals above all else, especially at the end of ‘Aries’ but thats probably because I’m a big death metal fan)

    I have to admit, I hated Temptation come my way when it first came out though, not because it wasnt a good album but rather for the same reason people dont like any of the post Scrolls Mortification albums…it wasnt what I wanted to hear. These days however its possible that my musical tastes have matured and I can appreciate some good mellow stuff, and I now enjoy all the Showdown albums.

    I have yet to hear Blood in the Gears, but I do plan on picking it up…as soon as I get Slechtvalk that is..

  • Vee

    Temptation was the first Showdown album i got, and i loved it a ton. i later got Chorus and Backbreaker, which totally kicked ass. and although i miss the southern flair of Temptation, i can’t get enough of Backbreaker, and i love the new direction they’re taking with Blood In the Gears. heavy or not, it’s friggin awesome.

  • Andy

    You are aware that there was an album before Temptation right? One that was much heavier than Blood In The Gears and Back Breaker combined.

    • Action_Bastard

      He mentioned it, but only in passing, which is a shame because that album is awesome.

  • http://www.thecurtisband.com codyhall

    First let me say that The Showdown is from my hometown .. so I’ve got a lot of love for these guys. Temptation Come My Way is a good album especially if you grew up on Pantera, Metallica, and Skynard. Personally it’s not my favorite of the three albums as far as the style of music is concerned, but there were lots of great messages in the lyrics, which definitely makes the album worth listening to. Back Breaker was a much better album on the whole compared to Temptation…if you’re a new Showdown listener, I’d encourage you to give Back Breaker a listen first. It’s thick, heavy, and most importantly it’s believable. There’s passion coursing through it. All that being said however, I have and always will stand behind A Chorus of Obliteration as The Showdown’s greatest and most intense body of work. It’s the best of the three in my book. It will draw you in, melt you face, and then kick you in the shin, twice, with steel toed boots. From the Mouth of Gath (Track 4) is KILLER !! Dave .. if you’re reading this, I want you to know that I and everyone else in The Curtis Band are expecting great things out of Blood in the Gears.
    Heavy Metal Till I Die
    Git Snake Bit
    777