Review: Thirty Nights of Violence

Thirty Nights of Violence - To Die In Your Portrait
Rating: 8/10
Favorite Track: “Frontal Cortex”
Release on 10/26/18 via Unbeaten Records
Title Track (Single) Soundcloud Stream

​Nashville is among the top places for hardcore/metalcore currently, with bands like Hanging Moon, Orthodox, Chamber, and now Thirty Nights of Violence stepping up to the plate. They’ve delivered a slew of entertaining live shows and albums over the past few years, and their debut EP To Die In Your Portrait is truly a work of art, showing that they belong destroying venues. There is absolutely no reason for this band to fly under your radar if you follow the more underground metalcore/hardcore scenes.

Metalcore has become so dependent on mosh riffs that I expected another round of crunchy panic chords and insane breakdowns from this record. To my surprise, To Die In Your Portrait is groovy, and even soothing, throwing it back to the days of OG metalcore while still providing those modern, aggressive instrumentals we’ve come to expect of Nashville. Thirty Nights seem to pull off those patterns better than I’ve heard in awhile.

“Frontal Cortex” is really gives you a sense of what’s on the table. It’s Poison The Well in 2018, with a harmonic, ambient section about a minute into the track deftly transitioning into a crushing guitar passage, proving Thirty Nights knows what they are doing. That To Die In Your Portrait is a debut blows me away. It sounds as if this band has been playing together for years - since the late 90’s or early ’00’s, perhaps.

“To Die In Your Portrait” holds its own as the only single the band dropped ahead of release. It’s pure bliss 54 seconds in, drawing similarities to Terrors Realm by Vein and Bless The Martyr era Norma Jean. Zach Wilbourn (Vocals, and also a member of A Needle Under The Nail) showcases a ton of range all over this EP, best heard between this song and  “Apathy in Greyscale.”

“Separate” is the EP’s outro, which is fitting, because by the end of the track you’ll be pining for more. It some of my favorite instrumental work here. One riff toward the end sounds ripped straight out of Avenged Sevenfold’s Waking The Fallen, just before it drops it to tug your heartstrings. Ethan Young (Drums) Kelly Cook (Guitar) & James Chatman (Guitar) are borderline-virtuosic metalcore musicians. You need mosh parts? You got it. You want to feel things? You got it. That combo put together with a bass line from Jake Chestnut + supporting vocals at sections to wombo combo Zach with Ethan, really makes for a beautiful match made in metalcore heaven.

Thirty Nights of Violence is one of my favorite new bands this year. Nashville metalcore is not to be taken for granted. I don’t know what’s in the water, but it’s breeding some insanely talented musicians.

- D ​