Sleeping Giant

If nothing else, you have to give credit to Sleeping Giant for trying their best at a ton of different shit. Continuing Facedown’s recent streak of releases ranging from exceptional (xDeathstarx) to merely interesting, Dread Champions Of The Last Days could have benefited from a more scrupulous attention to flow and precision. Huge breakdowns, "inspiring” spoken word, an almost comically obvious Christian lyrical stance, hip-hop interludes, clean vocals, pig squeals, it’s all here but nothing really sticks and the group come across as a poor man’s Candiria more often than not. When not throwing every possible ingredient into the melting pot, the group occasionally strike gold: the death-metal inspired moments and infrequent injections of melody catch the listener’s attention more effectively than their more "eclectic” compositions. This is not without its moments but is also chock full of filler and far from perfect. Better luck next time.