Band:	Livarkahil
Album:	First Act Of Violence
Style:	Death metal, Hardcore
Release date:	2009

01. Ode To Delirium
02. In Nomine Dei
03. Be My Plastic Queen
04. The Last Smile
05. My Civil War
06. Songs Of The Falling Gods
07. Interlude (First Act Of Violence)
08. Your Thin Line
09. Fuck That Shit
10. In This Room
11. Forgotten Tales
12. For Everything You're Not

After a short, strange, and slightly disturbing intro track, then a scream, we're directly plunged in an aggressive mix of metal and hardcore.

Yes, that's it, Livarkahil can be considered something like thrash-death-hardcore, but not deathcore a la Despised Icon or Black Dahlia Murder, or metalcore as it's understood today. From hardcore they took the vocals, breakdowns, harsh vocals, and syncopated riffs. And the groove. From metal, the fast and aggressive riffs, and most drumming patterns.
The songs themselves are generally mid-tempo, or relatively fast, but not extremely so. They're pretty varied, with slow-motion crushers ("In Nomine Dei"), aggressive metal numbers ("The Last Smile"), mosh-pit friendly songs ("My Civil War") or even a catchy anthem ("Be My Plastic Queen"). Further down the album, you'll even have the surprise to find a great "Interlude" (aptly but unimaginatively named), which is a short and heavy, but refreshing, instrumental.

What about the sound, you may ask? Well, it's powerful and incisive, but probably a bit too cold, and pretty monotonous in the long run. Yes, that's modern for you. Maybe it's just me, but I think the music would have been better served by a slightly grittier and rougher production.

This First Act Of Violence is Livarkahil's first album. So, no, it's not perfect. For example, the vocals are aggressive enough for sure, but certainly could use more variation? This said, it's clearly an honest and nice metal-hardcore release. While I wasn't blown away, it is way better than what I expected.
And now, to finish this review, let's jump in the "for fans of" stuff? So, yes, if you like modern hardcore, and/or bands like DevilDriver, you should probably check this release!