Band:	Straight On Target
Album:	Pharmakos
Style:	Deathcore
Release date:	January 2013

01. Theta
02. Ostrakon
03. Demonized
04. Wake Up Apathetic
05. Dreadful Eyes
06. Initiation
07. He Spreads Hypocrisy
08. Synesthesia
09. Palm Leaves Readers

Uncontroversial statement time: Deathcore can really, really suck.

When it comes to general shit-wrecking though? Deathcore done right can be the tits. And this album here, despite its regular hiccups, is full of deathcore done right. When all is said and done and broken down, its general success/failure, K/D ratio is pretty impressive. A good bit of time, it's one of those hard-hitting deathcore albums that deserves to be thrown on.

It doesn't seem too much like the kind of deathcore the Hot Topic-type, cigar-smoking trend hucksters mass-produce. It seems like a brutal album that's brutal for brutality's sake, one that doesn't consist solely of breakdowns to jump invisible rope to. But it isn't overly technical either. It's, though it's a little too cleanly mixed, got a no-frills kind of honesty to it that gives it bite. Even with its occasional breakdown abuse and little glitch electronic flourishes, it never feels too plasticky.

There are moments on this where the chunk and weight of the riffing and breakdowning can't hold the tracks together. Songs will barrel and trudge along then trip and fall down on awkwardly-placed and boring slams, say, or a bit of ugly vocal delivery. Those moments are infrequent enough though. For the most part, this thing keeps the sonic fists flying toward the ears, landing some savage blows. It ain't bad.

Stand-out tracks: "Dreadful Eyes" and "Initiation"