E.P Review: Patterns of Decay “Malicious Intent”
When a band comes along, there is a certain amount of reputation that comes along with it. People know the band members, the genre, the type of music they play or even what the band members have done individually. The possibilities are endless. Take for instance Patterns of Decay. The Long Island Based act with former members of Queens based Embrace Agony, come together to bring an act of force that could move up rank in the New York City community. Lead Singer Christian Contello rounded up some great talent here, with his fellow guitarist Matthew Stirrat and drummer Uriel Saint of MANHATTAN (formerly of Bronx based Behind Walls of Silence and Staten Island band the Saints of Pain), the band closes out with Dan Gold and Julius Heuman. All talents that have been members of an active local NYC community for years.
The band EP, Malicious Intent, has only been out since October 2014, and the live show has been received rather well. Being that my first time seeing them was opening up for Queens underground act Sworn Enemy, the slot time and act itself encompassed a lot of positivity from the crowd and sales of mercy and EP’s. There is a HUGE Whitechapel influence in this E.P, even though Contello is a hulking giant (Think of Tim Lambesis without the roid-rage). You can throw some Suicide Silence to mainly for the rhythm sections and the structure of songs like “The Harbinger”, “Porcelain Bride”, and Llama Lobotomy”. The song names are obscure, but so is the music, in a good way. The embodiment of the actual product can be summarized by the personalities of these men. The live act performance wise is awesome, but its between songs where their antics and how they represent their personality really takes the cake. The music is not so rapid in succession and not so focused on growls and breakdowns like MOST of the music now a day in the local community. There is care and even clean vocals here mixed in the music. For the approximate 28 minutes of music you get, there is much personality here to embrace. To me, the music can be okay or a work in progress, but if you can see the soul the band has put into their work, then you realize how complete a music package can be. I thoroughly recommend you check this band out and dig deep into your opinion of them. Check out some live footage I captured from their performance from Blackthorn 51 in Queens, NY down below.
I will be got damn to see this band open up for Metal Blade and Nuclear Blast recording artists one day. Lets hope by then, this E.P becomes a full fledged album, with a video or two to boot.I have high hopes for Patterns of Decay and the new career they have embraced.
Catch you rockers on the flip side!
–Derek Soto–
