Life’s December are a Swiss band who churn out some of the heaviest, bassiest, most disturbing music I’ve heard in a long time. Genre-wise they skip around deathcore and djent, adding samples for atmosphere in places. Colder is due for re-release in February having originally been released in 2014.
This album is evil. Dark, heavy and creepy enough to give Satan himself little chills up his spine. The twin kick drums were so bass heavy that I had to tweak my sound settings to get rid of the distortion they were causing. Even with this turned down, there’s an edge of crunch to several sections. Basically, Colder is too heavy for my stereo. If they can get the mix right in a live setting they stand a chance of crushing the audience’s boned to jelly.
I’d say there are three distinct parts to most of the songs:
- The fast-paced and more brutal sections
- The slow, incredibly heavy bass drops and “djent” sections
- The disturbing samples, recordings and so forth which lend atmosphere
The shining example of number three is the recorded 911 telephone call at the start of “Snow Falls Silently”. I have no idea if this is a genuine call or acted, but the hair was up on the back of my neck listening to it before the anvil-heavy notes plummeted in and restored my sanity. There are dubstep DJs who could learn a thing from Life’s December about what “dropping the bass” really is.
I’ll be honest, this isn’t the type of thing I would usually listen to. Having said that, I’ve played it through more times than I need to for review purposes because it’s interesting. The sheer amount of bass is astounding and yet it’s still musical. This is one you really need to have a listen to before making your mind up, but I really to urge you to have that listen.
