Desolatevoid / The Last Van Zant / The Parish—A Crimes Against Humanity Split Release (2010)

Details and bands

Desolatevoid

Recorded by Jamie Hansen, November 2008. Mixed throughout 2009.

Andy Howard—Vocals
Mark Stolp—Guitar
Brent K—Guitars
Nick Carroll—Bass
Tim Smith—Drums

The Last Van Zant

Engineered by Matt Morgan at Sit N Spin in June 2008.

D Dill—Vocals
B Leslie—Guitars
A Glenn—Bass
C Leslie—Drums

The Parish

Recorded at Garagemahall, Appleton, WI fall of 2009. Tracked and mixed by Grp.

Ryan—Vocals and guitars
Grp—Guitar
Jon—Bass
Fred—Drums

Review

The CD says “A Crimes Against Humanity split release” but I can’t decide if this is supposed to be a true split album or more of a label-released taster to generate more sales. (It’s hard work being this cynical.) Whatever the truth I can’t help thinking that The Parish got a bit of a raw deal with only two tracks on the disc. (That said, their two tracks do last 14′ 43″.)

I reviewed Desolatevoid in October. Their album was oddly prophetic: No sign of better times. I mean, it’s not awful but then again it’s not that great, either. More forgettable riffs, shouty vocals and more than half-decent playing.

The Last Van Zant are a band that I had never heard of before. On balance, I don’t think I’ve missed out too much living in ignorance of them until now. They have quite a punk feel to them with the kind of guitar solos that I was able to pull off after only a few months of picking up a guitar. They have a big sound: rasping distortion leaking out of those poor amp cabinets, and a lot of shouting. A lot.

And so that leaves only The Parish. Only two tracks but boy! did they leave the best ’til last. “Suffer” opens with a southern groove-style riff that is shortly joined with growling death-metal vocals. It’s like Down and Gorefest jamming together. It’s wonderful!

“Dark Days” proves that the previous track was not just a one off. It opens with a mournful Black Sabbath-style riff that slowly builds to a trundling groove. This track lasts 10 minutes but not once does it overstay its welcome.

Conclusion

I wish I could split these EPs and review them one by one. If that were the case then The Parish would score considerably higher than the other two; perhaps even in the low- to mid-90s.

As I need to take into account the other 11 tracks on this release I will use a simple average: Desolatevoid: 50%, The Last Van Zant: 40%, The Parish: 90%

Review score: 60%