I must admit to not being very familiar with Pittsburgh-based Fate Of Icarus, even though the band had been around for a few years prior to this, their debut, and final, full-length effort. After listening to Cut Your Throat Before They Do a half dozen or so times, I found myself feeling very disappointed that they had decided to call it quits before this album was even released.

Listening to the album is like being sucked up in a tornado, as you’re tossed all about, never certain what will happen from second to second. The band has a ridiculous amount of time changes, one minute they will be pummelling you with a flesh shredding grind assault with the most angst-ridden shrieks that will ever have the pleasure of tearing your ears from your head, to a slow, methodical, pummelling death metal wave of sound, to something completely different seconds later.

The only way to describe the music is precise chaos. Each individual instrument sets off on it’s own path, however they somehow combine to deliver a highly technical and crushing display. Comparisons can be made in segments, but there is no band I’ve heard that sounds even remotely like Fate Of Icarus. You could compare their insane time changes to Deeds Of Flesh, however they sound nothing like them, you could say a few of their riffs have new Cannibal Corpse qualities, yet they sound nothing like them, you could even say they have a technicality akin to Cryptopsy or Disincarnate, however, again, they sound nothing like either of these bands.

The thing about Fate Of Icarus that truly stands out is the vocals of David Ambrose. His low growls do have a rather generic quality, however his high-pitched shrieks have to be heard to be believed. After listening to the album you’d swear he was being tortured in the vocalist’s booth in the studio, having people carve open his flesh while he recites well thought-out and intriguing lyrics.

The guitar sound is a bit choppy as the band’s second guitarist left the band shortly prior to the recording of the disc, and to make up for the lack of a second guitarist, they harmonized heavily and it does take a bit away from the sound, but isn’t a huge factor. The next to last track is a remix of the album’s opening track, "234", performed by techno-gabber Venetian Snares, and honestly comes off extremely well and sounds pretty cool, surprisingly. The final track is an untitled chaotic noise track equal in annoyance to "Bedsheet" on Brutal Truth’s Perpetual Conversion mCD. They can’t all be winners.

Overall, Fate Of Icarus’s Cut Your Throat Before They Do is a very complicated disc, and its complexity may drive many people away, especially those who live for the quick and simple mosh riffs, since those are completely non-existent. The fact the band doesn’t remain in any single style for more than a few moments and are all over the place doesn’t help much either, but this is innovative and groundbreaking, not rehashed garbage. At times it does become a bit much, but, like Immolation, Fate Of Icarus is one of those bands that take many listens to fully get into, and once you do you’re able to appreciate them even more. Cut Your Throat Before They Do isn’t my favourite Willowtip release, however it is far better than many albums being released nowadays. It’s definitely recommended if you’re looking for something really different and completely chaotic.

Written By: Teufel