South Floridian metalcore will always hold a soft spot in my ears and heart. I’ll give credit to Poison the Well and Remembering Never for that. That same notion applies to my buddy Xavier Vicuna and his three brutalizing companions in Forty Winters. The art here presents an assured tone that this record doesn’t carry any religious agenda baggage and exudes some pivotal attention to detail.

Tentacles, flowers and a decaying hundred foot tall zombie. None of these things are in your future while listening to FW, but the cover art is impressively detailed and malevolent.

Forget all the predictable devices implemented in your typical metal/death/whatthefuckever core band because while FW does prescribe to some traditional methods they also bare an unmistakable charm the comes with the 954 area code. And if you can’t forget them, or how they’ve influenced some social media bantering, this band probably isn’t for you. Also, anyone looking for a beep booping KORG Micro breakdown can promptly fuck off into a never ending bath with a battery powered toaster.

I won’t bullshit anyone here there are breakdowns, but they’re similar to the intensity of The Red Chord rather than  August Burns Who Gives a Fuck. What I’ve always hated about the McFarlane themed deathcore bands is that their obligatory puns normally disappoint. I take my puns very seriously. But with tracks titled Cam-pain I can’t help but comb a guilty smile across my face. Reflection does everything a pulverizing half time oriented record should do, and exceeds expectations by maintaining a cohesive breakdown:groove ratio. At times you’ll experience a big ‘ol left hand turn into a vulgar snare heavy build up that effortlessly transforms into a fist hurling groove akin to their SoFla cousins in Thick as Blood. Precision is key when crafting a hardcore oriented record, and you can feel that any member of FW didn’t skip out on band practice while preparing for tracking.

Just to touch briefly of the vocal style I think the intensity exudes confidence with simultaneously authenticity. What I’d like to hear more of if I could change one thing is an emphasis on mid range assaults similar to Xibalba. Xavier’s does do an excellent job with his lyrical organization and remaining splendiferous with his vocal stylistic shifting. No bree bree boredom is always a good thing.

Be sure to check out Dead Truth Recordings for more beat down beauty from the 954/305.

Summative Sentence: Lace up your Nike’s because Reflection unleashes abhorrent assaults of dissonant neck break riffing and pristine demoralizing half time segues sure to stagger any comfort zone.

Favorite Track: Cam-pain (Duh!)

Click here to download Reflection by Forty Winters FO FREE.

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