Righteous Vendetta - The Dawning

Artist: Righteous Vendetta
Album: The Dawning
Release Date: 8/17/10
Label: Red Cord Records

Sometimes you hear a new band and are astonished at their maturity and talent level. Righteous Vendetta are one of those bands. Hailing from Cody, Wyoming on Red Cord Records, Righteous Vendetta have brought us their first full-length album entitled The Dawning. How good are they you ask? They are good enough to get myself and a fellow reviewer talking about how good The Dawning is and how we would have never believed it would be this polished.

Righteous Vendetta have a sound that would be best described as melodic metalcore. They meld the screaming vocals and clean singing that is so prevalent in today's scene, but the never approach the whiny sound that so many bands fall into. In fact, Righteous Vendetta have some of the best clean vocals in the scene. They also utilize a lot of shredding guitar riffs, blistering double bass drumming and crushing breakdowns. Righteous Vendetta remind me a lot of what might come out of a jam session with For Today and War of Ages. That alone should tell you all you need to know about Righteous Vendetta's songwriting and performing chops.

Some of the highlights on The Dawning are "Foretold," with its explosive, rapid fire double bass drumming and shredding riffs, the title track with its incredible guitar work and amazing vocal performance. A few others are "Rex Tryon," included with some unique guitar playing and a beautiful piano interlude, and "The New Normal," with incredible guitar work. Although only a few highlights were mentioned, every song is unique and well crafted.

Rating: 8/10 With The Dawning, Righteous Vendetta have crafted an album that shows skill well beyond their years. For Righteous Vendetta, this is only the beginning. It's only a matter of time before they move on to bigger and better things.

Reviewed by Matthew Alexander

Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. In Tents (Like Camping)
3. Away From The Truth
4. The Dawning
5. Rex Tryon
6. Essence
7. The New Normal
8. Foretold
9. A Breath Beneath
10. Outro

(Buy Here)