I’ll open the review with what you’re all already thinking: Deeply Confused is among the lamest band names I’ve heard of late. I’m sure they hear that quite a bit, although apparently not often enough to warrant a change. (I am thankful that the band isn’t trying to be ironic, as near as I can tell—this is no twelve-word bizarre emo-metal name, at least. The band is French-Canadian, so it could be that the name is a result of translation error.) Their bio even ends with the line “Get ready to be confused!” which is, admittedly, a confusing choice. The name does remind me of the classic Mitch Hedberg joke, in which he describes his own tenure in a death metal band: “A lot of [death metal] bands have intense names, like ‘Rigor Mortis’ or ‘Mortuary.’ We weren’t that intense; we called ourselves ‘Injured.'” Anything that reminds one of the late, great Hedberg can’t be all bad, right?
And it isn’t. It isn’t bad, I mean. Actually, it’s pretty gat-damn cool…
Hailing from Montreal, Deeply Confused peddle a brand of melodic and technical death metal, reminiscent of mid-to-late-period Death with dashes of core that are luckily offset by the complex and energetic performance, some first-rate songcraft and the band’s well-above-average instrumental chops. I say “luckily offset” because, upon first viewing, based solely upon the band name and the title of the BWBK-previewed song “Stuck In The Traffic With Kip Winger,” I expected this to be nothing but yet another record filled to the brim with death-core bullshit. So, again, thankfully, it is not, although there are breakdowns, so those among you who cannot tolerate such, be forewarned. But seriously, on most every level, there’s far more depth to this than there is to Whitechapel or Suicide Silence, so I can deal with it… And you can, too. Trust me.
Again, there are moments on Isolated that evoke vintage Schuldiner, and I don’t toss that comparison about lightly. Drummer Gabrielle Morin is absolutely killer and garners quite a bit of press based upon her skills, which are more than noteworthy. But as a guitar-man myself, these ears are drawn to the performances of founding member Stephan Filion and replacement second guitarist Fred Bergeron (both also of prog-metallers Tears For The Dead Gods). Their blend of the melodic, aggressive and technical is a first-rate performance. (Also of note: Philip Chown’s DiGiorgio-like basslines, slipping and sliding beneath the riffage. Cool stuff going on down there…) In short, this is a killer band, playing some very good music.
Only complaint: lose the two unnecessary album-padding instrumental tracks, the opening Ladysmith Black Mambazo tribal “On The Lake Shore” and the closing “The Darkest Day.” This is an EP, and those two tracks add nothing. I’d rather their space be taken up by another song as good as the remainder of these.
