A Perfect Murder
Unbroken

August 2004
Released: 2004, Victory Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Lord of the Wasteland

Victory Records is becoming to metalcore what Metal Blade is to death metal; continuously quality stuff from experienced bands and plenty of new stuff ready to breakout. Victory’s latest find is Montreal’s A Perfect Murder. Not your typical backwards baseball cap moshers, these guys are equal helpings of metal and hardcore on their Victory debut, UNBROKEN. Obvious touches of classic Bay Area thrash, Pantera and even some stoner stuff like Crowbar and Down pepper this release, but there is also some aggressive hardcore inspiration as well. Imagine speedy, down-tuned Sabbath riffs coupled with Hatebreed/Sworn Enemy vocals and that about sums up A Perfect Murder’s sound. Keeping it short and sweet with 13 songs at 36 minutes, this little gem packs a lot of wallop in a very short time.



The dual guitar attack and metallic overtones give rise to the odd Slayer reference, especially the intros to “Possessed” and the title track. The thrashy breakdown of “Unbroken” that begins at 2:15 is totally out of character for a hardcore band, but these guys pull it off with flying colors. The bass and drums are very evident and mixed nicely to give some good bottom end thump. Best example of this is on “Speak Without Faith.” The rhythm section is tight and gets your head banging right away. The band also isn’t afraid to break from convention and turns in an instrumental (“No Pulse In My Veins”) to flip the bird to their critics.



The one thing that IS typical with A Perfect Murder is the lyrics. Like Hatebreed, the vocals are in the “you can’t break me down because I’m so damn strong” vein which can get tired pretty quickly. That aside, this is a solid release and one of the standouts I have heard in the Victory catalogue. It’s great to see a Canadian band making their mark in the U.S. and there ought to be big things ahead for A Perfect Murder.



KILLER KUTS: “Possessed,” “Time Bomb,” “Speak Without Faith,” “Unbroken”