Framework (NJ)

As a melodic death/thrash metal band from New Jersey, Framework has been making headway in the scene through a strong debut album A World Distorted released in 2014, plus subsequent touring spots including an early 2015 East Coast run with Armageddon. Although progress was slower than anticipated for the follow-up as the members all dealt with personal/family issues, Where We Divide stands as the newest offering – a five song EP illustrating the progressive depth and willingness to expand their horizons for the sake of developing their own take on the genre.

Stylistically the foundation of the group’s sound comes from a European slant – incorporating heavy, earthshaking riffs, unyielding tempos, and caustic vocals that match the musical savagery. It’s easy to hear similarities to classic Slaughter of the Soul/At the Gates, Soilwork, and Meshuggah when airing the stacked guitar assault within “An Odyssey Unwinds” or the shape-shifting action that unfurls over the course of the 6:45 closer “A Passage in the Waning Light”. At other times though, Framework will drop a dynamic bomb so to speak – riding the crest of a specific, lower end groove in that Gojira-like rhythmic manner, or just taking the distortion out of the game and engaging in a simplistic, clean passage that adds beauty or tranquility to convey that opposing emotion. The ambient nature of the opening instrumental “The Departure” sets the stage for the title track – the highlight of the EP due to its monster main guitar/drum hook and alluring keyboard backing. It’s hard not to get swept up by all the massive chugging and twists contained within the four minutes, 15 second track – as vocalist Glenn Ferguson spits out his venomous words like the best melodic death singers going today (‘we destroy ourselves’ a repetitive refrain that reverberates).

The guest solo spot for Chris Amott on “Awakened by the Dawn” is icing on an already delectable offering – while the Gustavo Sazes artwork conveys the progressive abstraction of Framework brilliantly. The band upped their game a hundredfold on an already strong foundation – Where We Divide is the type of EP that in a just world gains massive acceptance not just from the melodic or progressive death/thrash communities, but new followers willing to support talent and hard work. - Matt Coe (Dead Rhetoric)

Melodic death metal is a genre that’s arguably an endangered species as a stand-alone style. It started as something very distinct and apart from the rest of metal for sure, and some of the greatest metal ever made was recorded by bands operating under that label and with those stylistic leanings. However, I think it can be argued that the style has basically been devoured by the rest of metal.

More extreme bands began incorporating more melody into their music, and the melodic death bands who took notice of this started incorporating more extreme elements into their own music. This musical adaptation that’s happened, especially in the last ten years, make it worth asking if we should even be using the genre descriptor any more.

I reviewed Framework’s excellent record A World Distorted here at NCS previously, an impressive debut that incorporated all the best aspects of ’90‘s/early 2000s heavier melodic death metal in the spirit of At The Gates, Soilwork, Nightrage, etc. Framework have been underground for a good while since then, now three years removed from A World Distorted. And now I understand why, as the band have been busy re-tooling their sound, making that adaptation I spoke of earlier.

Where We Divide is one of the most impressively concise, intense, and satisfying EPs of 2017, and it also sees Framework morphing more into their own. They have integrated their melodic death metal tendencies of old with syncopated grooves in the style of progressive metalcore ala Textures or Hacride, post-rock/metal atmosphere, and a significantly more intense thrash focus to ramp up the intensity of their speedier side, and as a consequence the band is almost unrecognizable from their debut.

What they’ve become is a hybrid enigma, of that there’s no doubt. You can’t really apply a primary genre descriptor to them anymore, but they’ve gone from having a unique spin on an old style to now just having a unique spin. This EP is stellar. I love everything about it — the tight, melodramatic riffing, the shreddy solos, the raw impassioned throat-tearing vocals, the atmosphere, it’s all fucking good.

The EP stream is below, and I will also link a stream of the band’s debut, as purchasing the EP currently also comes with A World Distorted. This is an essential release for this year, as well as an essential band to have on your radar. - NoCleanSinging.com

Framework (formerly known as Exorbitance) are the kind of band you listen to if you miss that fast as fuck thrash-based style of melodic death metal you got from bands like Carnal Forge, The Absence, or the most obvious culprit, At The Gates. Their debut under the Framework name, A World Distorted, is a fucking amazing record, showcasing these blood-hungry Americans’ ability to craft melodic death metal that retains the militancy and commitment to crafting brutal, yet epic songs that give you whiplash.

It’s very rare that you find a band playing just straight-up, no-nonsense melodic death metal this well and writing an album THIS good that doesn’t feel at all like a rehash, even if the influences are worn on their sleeves. A World Distorted is frankly one of the best debuts from a melodic death metal band I’ve heard in YEARS.

The music is all about killer riffs, captivating melodies that make you want to charge into battle in slow motion, and those delicious old school Lindberg-esque snarls. Guitarists Andrew Pevny and Devin DeCicco and bassist Chris DeBenedetto know their shit, and they know it so well that they sound like they were around during the inception of the Gothenburg scene itself. Vocalist Glenn Ferguson sounds like he’s straight from the mid-nineties and drummer James Applegate is an insanely tight, precise, and brutalizing drummer to listen to. These guys really bring back that Gothenburg vibe while retaining the developments by American counterparts like The Black Dahlia Murder and The Absence.

Just… just listen. They’ve got the fucking riffs, the intensity, and the melodies. Call this an early 2014 highlight and check these guys out.

Also the album’s pay whatever you want. Which means it’s technically free, but these dudes seriously deserve the fat stacks. No joke. - NoCleanSinging.com