For the past 18 years American Heritage have been a storm raging in the underground. What began as a techy instrumental math influenced musical endeavour has flourished over time into sludgy, punk infused metal that lazier people may resign to deem “hardcore”. 2011’s ‘Sedentary’ broke all the rules of genres, displaying technical adeptness with effortless brutality. Latest release ‘Prolapse’ is still full of crowd pleasing riffs, interwoven melodies and eccentric fretwork, however, this time around they leave more room for straightforward, mind-melting shredding.
Adam Nordan’s gruff yet semi-melodic vocals have grown more distinctive with each release, which makes it all the more unfortunate that this release sees his departure from the band and, thus, renders ‘Prolapse’ the band’s swansong. Second track ‘Anxious Bedwetter’ sees the quartet continuing to defy genre classification, fusing together a multitude of influences with each instrument, while ‘Mask of Lies’ is a volatile eruption of brute ferocity that would probably work incredibly well in a live setting, with explosively violent results.
Admittedly, this isn’t the most memorable of American Heritage’s releases to date, but with just over 30 minutes of material, there’s plenty to choose from, including a cover of Black Flag’s ‘Thirsty and Miserable’. This record is more like going out with a louder than average pop than it is a bang, but is worth a listen just for an obligatory “thanks for the memories” gesture to the band.
(6.5/10 Angela Davey)
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