The Damascus Intervention

Finally able to shake off the cheese metal stigma of past ghosts Firehouse and Animal Bag, Charlotte, NC has been rekindled as an indie hotbed for hardcore acts Prayer for Cleansing and Undying, among others. Though the Damascus Intervention have nothing to do with the current Middle East unrest, this Queen City quintet does its best to keep pace with the Glass Casket bandwagon on their five-song debut EP. "Purpose Driven Youth” and the Killwhitneydead-inspired "I Kiss My Sweetie with My Fist” swap ideas with neighbours Through the Eyes of the Dead. Between the Buried and Me comparisons fly as "The Last Days of Humanity” sports a prog-ish midsection amidst the gut-wrenching growls of vocalist Lee Hill. Though "Nails in the Hands of Innocence” begins like Dream Theater, the tune quickly descends into the Black Dahlia Murder-esque fire fights. The enhanced disc also contains a brief live set, which takes no risks but does include two non-album cuts: "Life in a Mortal Body” and "Losing the Greatest Invention.” Not as fluid and solo-heavy as the Acacia Strain but more melodic than the quick death of Misery Index, the Damascus Intervention enter the pit on the fatigued coattails of their peers.