Eaten by Sharks – Eradication
Release Date: 26th August 2022
Label: Self-Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Deathcore, Deathcore, Technical Death Metal.
FFO: Fit for an Autopsy, Cattle Decapitation, Revocation, Gojira, Despised Icon.
Review By: Eric Wilt
When I was deciding which albums I was going to review this time around, I wasn’t sure about Eradication by Eaten by Sharks. While the album artwork—which features mutant sea creatures (presumably sharks) rising out of the water to destroy a large city—is pretty cool, I thought the whole aquatic themed technical deathcore might be a little too cheesy for me. Then I listened to the album opener, Shallow Water, which begins with the warning, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…”, and I knew it was cheesy, but not in a bad way. The cool kind of cheesy, like the ’66 Batman series starring Adam West and all of The Muppets in Star Wars. Once I had listened to the whole album, I knew I had made a good choice because, while the album is all about sharks destroying humanity, the music is no joke.
The album begins with the aforementioned Shallow Water, which is a churning ripper of a tune with big riffs and a bit of technical shredding here and there. Also of note is Matt Sherriff’s vocals, which are ridiculously good for a guy the band found covering Archspire songs on Facebook. Sherriff’s range covers everything from low gutturals to high shrieks, and proves that not everything you find on Facebook is trash.
The next song is called Dead Weight, and it doubles down on the technical side of Eaten by Sharks. While still full of chunky riffs, Dead Weight is equally filled with technical riffing that balances out the song and keeps it from getting boring. Dead Weight also features an easter egg, intentionally or not, in which the guitarists use a whammy bar to mimic the sound of the old 60s surf songs. This technique pops up in a few other songs, leading me to believe that they are having as much fun writing and recording this music as I am listening to it.
Eradication features a total of seven songs that continue in this way. Never straying far from their love of chunky riffing, sprinkling some technical parts here and there, Eaten by Sharks is balls out heavy and loads of fun. This record is being self-released, but I would not be surprised if their next album comes out on a label, as there should be a lot of interest around Eaten by Sharks when Eradication drops.
(4 / 5)
