Newcastle’s Arcite know how to pump their music with energy on a nuclear scale. We had a taster of their monolithic power with their debut EP We Lie Awake – a shit-kicking tribute to riff-sodden metalcore. Now they’re back with a very worthy crack at a full-length.
Removed goes for the jugular, starting with chunky thrash riffs and injecting extra clout with an attack of double-pedal kicks, finishing off with an anthemic chorus that Trivium would be proud of. The title track, with strong echoes of Killswitch Engage, is no innovator, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for in an eruption of rich musicality, both brutal and skillfully produced to give it that US-sounding stamp of quality.
Of their sonic artillery, it’s the unrelenting force behind the vocal/drum combo that really fires up The Escape Key. The six-strings offer much in the way of ‘core trademarks – meaty staccato riffage, unearthly top notes – but the real threat comes from their rambunctious skin-pounder. Uncompromising music with considerable muscle.
