ROCKET’s CD Review Of INTETHOD’s “Welcome To Nothing”

INTETHOD

Welcome To Nothing

North Carolina’s Intethod clearly demonstrate they are one of the new contenders immediately out of the proverbial fire-blazed ‘gates of hell’ with ‘Open Season’ the first track off their debut album Welcome To Nothing, and from this critical reviewers standpoint, they are more than ready to be considered one of the elite of the current wave of unsigned American metal bands rising quickly out of the underground scene today. Eeerily reminiscent of early Megadeth with their ability to set forth a chaotic display of no holds barred, high-speed rhythm rampage that at the same time involves creep-ified backing vocals and a perfectly orchestrated mid-tempo change for the chorus that clearly shows the exciting and fresh songwriting skills from Intethod’s mainman Rory Kelly. Moreover, his guitar solo on this solid opener is one of the more memorable I have heard in all of metal in the past two years. Accompanied by the pinpoint drum work of Nolan Lawing and gut-low bass work of Jermaine Williams, Intethod cuts loose like an assassin’s bullet with the next set of tracks, ‘Break Down The Door’, ‘Classification Zero’ and ‘Branded Soul’.

With more than enough flair for the ‘metal’ dramatics going on up to this point, inspired musicianship and a definitive understanding for the way true metal is to be represented, it sends shivers down my back listening to what could possibly become the real answer for the ultimate ‘changing of the guard’ of the tired out and therapy-addled thrash titan monster turned alternative-pop/rock creampuffs that is now Metallica, much more so convincingly than anything Avenged Sevenfold or Trivium has done to date even. And despite how much those imposters, who are simply looking for the big paycheck to keep their country club memberships paid off, standing for no literal musical integrity, willing to change their outfits and genres when the corporate stiffs holding their leashes tell them to do so, rolling over without any kind of fight. I think this is a moment and time for a ‘little unknown band that could’ like Intethod to send a serious message to sellout acts like the two I have mentioned, who might I add, continue to be hyped by everyone as the real deal, mainly the mainstream metal magazines who think prissy, mascara-clad emo rockers such as My Chemical Romance are an important enough heavy music band to put on their covers. And Intethod’s message is this: ‘Times are a changing and Intethod clearly has more than it takes to expose these fraudulent musical harlots!’

Case in point, track five’s ‘Worthless Sanity’, which is way more representive of anything that was produced during the great NWOBHM movement from the 70’s with acts like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest than anything I have ever heard produced by Trivium. And the solo on here from Rory Kelly is as ass-ripping as his super monster-ish vocals that still are able to find impressive harmony within the same lyric line. And furthermore, track six’s ‘Instrumental’ is more heart wrenching and filled with creative soul than any of the lightweight, meaningless crap produced by all the emo/core acts with their atypical whines and ‘three word’ band names. The blistering tracks that follow even turn it up a notch with ‘Casa Diablo’, ‘Equalizer’ and ‘Never Behold’. Point blank, it is here that Intethod has truly arrived with Kelly, Lawing and Williams sounding like they have literally stepped out of a time warp from when metal really meant something to its fans. Rounding out with hard hitters ‘Judged And Crucified’ and ‘Mass Eraser’, I do believe it is time for someone to send ole Monte Conner a retirement memo over at Roadrunner Records, who as I have recently learned, passed on this band.

1. Open Season

2. Break Down The Door

3. Classification Zero

4. Branded Soul

5. Worthless Sanity

6. Instrumental

7. Casa Diablo

8. Equalizer

9. Never Behold

10. Judged And Crucified

11. Mass Eraser