10 significant bands in the Ukrainian deathcore
Deathcore music and the whole genre in global understanding is quite an interesting phenomenon. If at first the creativity of this direction was positioned as a kind of protest against ordinary and boring metal, then over time the bands evolved and began to more and more often lap into the circles of amateurs of the classic heavyweight. Actually, they joined everything that they were fighting against. In fact, many groups didn’t live that long — if successful bands in rich America split up one after another simply because nobody needed such music, then what about Ukraine and the post-Soviet space?.
Coolness and demand among fans of the MySpace-era ended before it even started. Many competently evolved and developed their brainchild into something more interesting and not as narrow-minded as it originally sounded on the records. Nevertheless, even in the vastness of Ukraine, there were several really worthy bands, although, on the other hand, it was not so easy to assemble a dozen interesting bands — most of the projects in the country simply broke up before they could achieve.
Rise of Cadia
Band from Uzhgorod was founded in 2007 by vocalist Sasha and guitarist Dima. After some time, Dime left the band, and the twins Marjan and Igor, as well as Zhenya "Stapler" came to Rise of Cadia. EP "The City of Plague" was recorded in this line-up, but the release was never published. Material at that time was compared with Despised Icon, Whitechapel and Emmure. In early 2009, the twin brothers left the band, and a replacement was found only closer to winter. In the updated composition, the debut EP "Contribution to Disorder" (2011) with a different sound and material was released — the music became more like The Acacia Strain, Recon, xAFBx. Unfortunately, a few months after the debut release, the band ceased to exist..
A band from Kharkiv, the capital of black metal, could not help but absorb all these dark and gloomy notes of the main genre of their city. Formed in 2006, pretty quickly accumulated material for a debut demo record, and after that for a long time went to a full and high-quality recording. It was only in 2011 that their next single, "Внутренний голос" ("Inner Voice") was released, on which the band more and more stepped aside from deathcore music and acquired more metallic sound and music. In 2012, the eponymous EP was released, which received a lot of positive reviews. Two years later, another mini-album is released and after several performances, the band ceases to exist. Unfortunately, taking into account the latest material, the potential of the band was incredibly high, but it could not be realized. I strongly recommend you to listen to the last record of the band, if you missed it!
Another band from Uzhgorod began their career already at the sunset of the deathcore scene in the country. At first, the band gravitated to slow deathcore with powerful riffs and a gloomy sound — this was facilitated by the mood of all creativity. At the same time, the tag "sad aggressive" (hello to the last EP of the TOL band!) was actively used, focusing on a strong emotional message, mixing it with the deathcore aggressiveness and the tragedy of doom metal music. After the release of the debut EP "Eternal Torments" (2013), the band slightly changed the development vector and added more black metal component to their work. The next record has already turned out to be much more adult, professional and confident — the monolithic blackened death impresses with its pressure and aggression, and goosebumps come from the atmosphere on the release. The band is currently writing material for the next album.
Execute My Liberty was founded in Sevastopol in April 2010 and managed to record the debut EP "The Cursed Way" a few months later. Immediately after this, the band began to actively perform on the territory of Crimea and only the replacement of the guitarist somewhat slowed down the frequent concerts. After some time, a couple more singles came out and the band freezes the activity. In 2015, Execute My Liberty showed signs of life again and released a new single, "Hekate", to then re-announce the silence.
Шелест Запахов (The Rustle of Smells)
Veterans of deathcore from the capital for a long time went to their full release. Founded in 2008, the band almost immediately rolls out its debut demo record and claims the title of one of the best deathcore bands in the country. Actively performing both at Kyiv venues and throughout Ukraine, the band is approaching the release of the next single in 2010. Then work began on a full-length album, the material on which evolved and moved away from traditional deathcore towards mdm, post-metal, and black metal. This was displayed on the 2013 album, entitled "Экспедиция в преисподнюю" ("Expedition to the Underworld"). What is noteworthy, the band released the album gradually — one track was released every week and only after almost two months, the audience was able to fully listen to the entire recording. Around 2015, the Шелест Запахов ceases to exist, and musicians scatter on new projects.
We have already talked about Dysphoria within the material of 10 iconic bands in the Ukrainian mathcore, but not to remember them yet, but within the deathcore list it would be a crime. Founded as a side project and even a joke, the Dysphoria band holds the title of perhaps the best Ukrainian band in the genre at the moment. Unfortunately, there were significantly fewer active performances due to the withering of the scene and the outflow of interest from the audience to the genre as such. I hope that the next record, which is currently being worked on, will give a new impetus and charge to the development of the band.
Miss Ukraine Was Murdered
Miss Ukraine Was Murdered band from the small town of Kolomyia in the Ivano-Frankivsk region was founded in 2008. Before that, the participants played in two other bands, but due to the perpetual changes of rosters and transitions back and forth, it was decided to assemble one band and do everything seriously. In the same year 2008, a demo song was recorded, and the band released its debut EP "My Revenge" next year. The quality of the recording is not so good, but the material on the mini-album was quite interesting for itself as for that time. What is noteworthy, the band members were very young and the oldest at the time of the first concert was only 18 years old. After several performances in Ivano-Frankivsk with popular band in the genre, MUWM ceases to exist.
I Curse The Day
Deathcore-band from Simferopol I Curse The Day took its final form at the junction of 2008 and 2009. Having gathered a full-fledged composition, the band began to actively write material and prepare for the release of debut material. First releasing two singles, I Curse The Day released the full-length album "The Doomsday" in 2011. Since its inception, the band has actively performed both in Crimea and in Ukraine. In 2012, the participants decided to close the project and start a new band called Promises Betrayed.
Formed in Mykolaiv in 2008, The Infestation is currently one of the old-timers of the domestic scene and continues to adhere to the style to this day. They have several singles, EP and the full-length album "Fractal Delusion", which was released only in 2018, 10 years after the band was founded. Over the years of existence, they have actively performed with colleagues in the genre, both in Mykolaiv and in Ukraine. Now the band gives rare concerts in their hometown and performs at dubious quality festivals, such as "Рок Булава" ("Rock Mace").
Silent Murder
Founded in 2008, the Silent Murder band pretty quickly recorded the self-titled debut mini-album, which, although it received mixed reviews, still found its response among fans of the scene. If at first guys actively mowed under the early Bring Me The Horizon, then already at the new single in 2011 the material became more adult, if not the most original. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, the band ceased to exist after some time.
As a result, the deathcore scene in Ukraine did not manage to grow into something normal, as most of the bands banally ended their existence. Yes, many bands deserved more and could achieve some success, but alas, it did not grow together. We hope that those few who continue to play will be able to fully express themselves not only in Ukraine but also abroad.
This article is part of a series of materials on the development of various underground musical genres in Ukraine. Early in the series:
https://www.neformat.com.ua/rubrika/10-znakovih-gurtiv
Cover art — Anastasia Inri
