Germany has a great tradition for Deathcore bands, that bastard blend of Melodic Death Metal, heavy and brutal parts and Hardcore, often in a fullblown bulldozing manner, leaving nobody behind, besides a twisted mass of decay, broken down with some catchy choruses or melodic parts and guitar leads. ICHOR has been around since 2008 and this is their third full length record and my first encounter with them. ICHOR delivers a modern type of Death Metal, with a lot of brutality, melodic breakdowns, some catchy parts and a wall of dark sound. It’s not really pure Deathcore, though somewhere in that manner. After numerous listens to this album, I haven’t really broken the code to appreciating it, I miss some musical depth and variations, as I rather quickly find an output like this monotonous, as bands within this genre of modern Death Metal has an tendency to sound. We are getting the music blasted off, in often a fiery pace, with a lot aggression and power, broken down here and there with a melodic lead or guitar piece, though a bit too often I find the sound mudded together in a very compact box where, all the elements are mixed in the same level, a quite bulldozing and compact production, that I don’t find suiting for much. There are highlights, take a track like ‘While Giants Sleep’ where ICHOR slows down and delivers a brutal and heavy Sludge track, with a good dark atmosphere and impression, a nice variation that shows the band actually has something to offer. They try something alike with the track ‘Leviathan’, though it is drenched with a melodic guitar lead that takes the brood of the heaviness, and some vocal patterns I don’t find fitting. We have some good moments here and there, though in total the production and the quite standard compositions within the genre drags the excitement down. Those small twists and turns that make and break music and makes it interesting and lasting, are missing. I’ve given "Depths" a good deal of spins, and well, I can’t say that I have come to like the music a tad more, than they first time I laid ears on it, I guess this kind of music isn’t up my alley, as I miss some musical intensity, some emotion and raw power. All further information at: www.facebook.com/ichorofficial, www.depthsofhorror.com, www.bastardizedrecordings.de