Dismuffinment

With a name like The Gun Show, you know this band has to be heavy. This Ohio quintet plays a brutal combination of metalcore and deathcore with a major Christian lyrical influence. Discontentment is the follow up to their 2010 debut Currents, and they’ve taken everything up a notch with this one.

You may be lulled into a false sense of security as “An Overview” plays through. “Barely distorted guitars? A female singer? This is not the heavy I was promised!” you’ll say. Fear not, dear reader. After two minutes and fourteen seconds, you’ll be crushed under the weight of the title track. Massively down-tuned guitars, courtesy of Cory Messer and Eric Biddle, will leave you floored. Mike Mitchell’s work behind the kit will make sure you stay there. Jon Bourcier’s bass onslaught will hold you down. And Tom Hirst’s vocals will pull you along behind this powerhouse. “Negligence” works with some harmonizing guitars before switching back to the deathcore-style riffage. The intro for “The Adegan System” gives us a slightly different taste of things with a much more metalcore and hardcore influenced style song. “The Girl” returns to the chest-crushing deathcore that these Ohio boys know how to wield.

“Apocryphal” begins with atmospheric guitars that are heavy on the reverb and a touch of clean vocals. This reprieve doesn’t last long, as things pick back up about halfway through the song. Though they bring the heavy back in, they also pair it with the female vocalist from the intro, which gives a nice contrast of melody and brutality. “Currents” brings us another hard-hitting deathcore track – it’s got some ridiculously heavy breakdowns, boys and girls; listen responsibly. “The Honest Truth” lets the guitars have a little bit of fun with some quick sweeps before returning to the down-tuned riffs they do so well. Throwing a little more hardcore into the mix, “Founded Upon the Seas” changes things up just enough to keep things interesting. The final track on the album, “Authenticity”, fades in with a brutal breakdown before the guitars take on some wicked fast sweeps and then transition back to their deathcore roots.

The Gun Show are not afraid to take their faith and scream, growl, and sing it from every stage they can. They take the heaviness of the music and use it to drive their point home. Discontentment is a good album, and it shows how well they’ve developed in the short period after their debut. Keep an eye on this band. They’ve got a lot of potential.