Alekhine's Gun - ...and Kings Will Fall (2014)

   When it comes to the combination of death and groove metal, most might first think about bands like Obituary or Six Feet Under, since their music defines groove/death the best. But there's also a worrying second thought bonded to these big names that leads to features like long, completely homogenous and eventless discographies full of monotonous groovy bouncing played by nearly retired musicians, that eventually might make the audience feel retired as well. Fortunately Alekhine's Gun are able to scatter these worries immediately, since they've proved that it's possible to play groove/death metal differently and even to make it diverse. 
    However, their music is also more mixed than what should be expected from similar bands. There are hardcore and even blackened elements to find. The first is mainly represented in the vocal style (by actress Jessica Pimentel by the way), in the music the hardcore features are merged into the groovy themes. The blackened touch getting revealed in the drumming style, but occasionally it shows up in the leading guitar themes as well. By turning back to groove/death, it's important to mention that by adding more intensity to the music, it seems like Alekhine's Gun took the death metal part more seriously than most bands in this style, and this new perspective could even redefine how this subgenre could or should sound like. Most importantly: despite the band having various influences, their music is pretty unified. The songs are well composed, the sound is great, and the only weak point of the EP is its short duration. In total, Alekhine's Gun has quite high potential, and  probably by being a hobby or side project of the band members, they aren't as productive as it might be needed to become a big name in the metal scene.