Paris is Burning - Noroi [REVIEW]

Paris is Burning
Album: Noroi
Genre: Technical Deathcore
Location: Miami, FL [USA]

Rating: 4.5/5

          Have you been missing out on massive, neck-snapping breakdowns? Lacking in lightning-fast, eardrum-shredding solos? Has your “recently added” list been falling behind in terms of brutality? If you’ve answered yes to one, or all of the above, and are bummed about it (I would be), I know what your problem is–you haven’t downloaded Noroi by Miami-based technical deathcore outfit Paris is Burning.

          Noroi, a Japanese word which translates roughly to doomed or cursed couldn’t be a more fitting name for Paris is Burning’s sophomore EP. Between the haunting, atmospheric moments created by classical guitar interludes and Earth-shaking, down-tuned breakdowns, Noroi can have you feeling like you’re wandering the halls of a serial-killer’s mansion one second, and at the drop of a speedy drum fill or harsh scream leave you staring into an oncoming apocalypse. While the sweeping guitars and intricate, break-neck drums do more than pull their weight (in fact, at times they steal the show), they often serve as a stunning back-drop for the vocals to soar over. The vocals often times demand the attention, even if the lyrics are largely undecipherable. Without the shrill highs screams, shrieked squeals and bone-trembling guttural lows, Noroi might just be another slightly-more-than-run-of-the-mill release, but the vocals allow the complex and technical sections of each track to blend and transition perfectly into the sludgy and heavy moments while also allowing each component to sounds its best and shine brightly and memorably–because if we’re being honest, deathcore artists are too often forgettable and transient.

          So if your iTunes is suffering from a case of the “blah’s” (not to be confused with the “blegh’s”–for that I prescribe Stray from the Path or Sworn In) and you’re at your wits end trying to fix it, grab Noroi by Paris is Burning. As if it’s being free wasn’t enough, Noroi is a stellar collection of both slamming and technical deathcore which will leave your ears busted, bleeding and begging for more.

by Connor Welsh (Eccentricism)