Desecrate-At The Edge Of Sanity

Self-Release
2012

The members of L.A.'s Desecrate were still in their teens when they formed the band. That was 2002 to be exact. Other then swapping out drummers along the way the band has maintained the same line-up since their formation. Nick Simile (vocals/rhythm guitar), Chase Becker (lead guitar), and Hawk Engvig (bass) have kept the dream alive since day one. The dream? We'll get to that in a second. It should be noted first that Ryan Healy fills out the band on drums. All four musicians certainly know their trade and have talent to spare. This self-release is the first new material for Desecrate since 2008's "Mental Massacre" EP. With the band's name and album title/cover art it should be an easy enough task to figure out where these four guys fit in the grand scheme of metal right? It's not hair metal or glam obviously so don't let the fact that these guys currently call Hollywood their home fool you. Let's toss out a few names. Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Vio-lence, Exodus, and Lääz Rockit. That's the thrash/power metal influences while Pantera would be the modern metal one. The band also resides in the progressive metal scene (Watchtower influence perhaps?) occasionally and then there is the metalcore. Yeah. I'm not going to lie here folks. That part they could do without. You've got the clean vocals verses growls/screams and, while it isn't overwhelming or anything, it's just not needed. Other then that one point though (which is really a minor gripe if you think about it) Desecrate offer a lot of bang for a band still striking out on their own. These guys defiantly deserve some kind of record label recognition. Maybe "At The Edge Of Sanity" can change that? Weird as it is to see a band like this still unsigned (given the impact of this thrash/modern metal LP) at least you've got to give these four guys serious props for taking matters into their own hands. They play out live, hard and heavy, and are a documented draw. For a band that sells out the world famous Whiskey A Go Go every-time they play the club (for the last decade mind you) there is already a built-in fan-base and, waiting in the wings, an audience that lives and breathes for this kind of hard-edge metal. Therefore, you'd think more people would be paying attention to this L.A. force of metal, but life isn't always fair as we know. Still the band is doing it all by themselves and hitting the scene with everything they've got. Sooner or later someone is going to catch on to Desecrate and realize the potential. It's just a matter of time.