I think it’s obvious enough that the thing that created that initial attraction to most of their listeners was their ridiculous name, Eat a Helicopter. That’s got to be one of the most random band names I’ve EVER heard along with Iwrestledabearonce, We Butter the Bread with Butter, Anal Cunt, Job for a Cowboy, Super Happy Story Time Land (a local band for me), and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. I’ve been listening to Eat a Helicopter since early 2010, a little while after they released their debut Pessimist EP. At the time, I actually really loved it, but now that I’ve heard better, I would actually give it a 9/20 rating, just below average. Usually, a band will release a debut EP so that they can have a CD to hand out at shows and to get people excited for a full-length. Two years later, they release
another EP? You wait two years to release a fucking EP?? I was expecting a full-blown album! This either means that the members of this band are very busy with lives/school/work (which would make sense because they’re very young), or they have a really hard time writing songs. I know it’s not because they’ve been touring constantly because they’ve never come through Seattle (where I go to concerts) as far as I’m aware. Well, the only way that they could make up for this disappointment is for this new EP to be pretty fucking amazing; I’d better be BLOWN AWAY.

I’m going to warn you, don’t expect anything you haven’t heard before; this is deathcore in its purest form. Being a fan of all the “generic” artists of almost every genre I listen to, this isn’t a problem for me at all. But if a band chooses to be generic/traditional, they had better be amazing. I’ve always wondered why so many people consider generic qualities and traits to be a negative thing. I mean, it can’t ALL be progressive, because then it won’t be progressive! People need to have a good amount of the bands that play their styles in a traditional and PURE form in their collection; even though I always prefer progressive music over generic, I can’t imagine being fully musically satisfied without those core and traditional bands being present.

Now it’s time to ask the question: well
how good is Eat a Helicopter at playing PURE and TRUE deathcore? My answer to that question would be that Eat a Helicopter’s 2011 EP is one of the best TRUE deathcore releases I’ve heard in years. Don’t get the idea that I think they’re AMAZINGG, because they’re not, but they go above (not above AND BEYOND) the requirements needed to make a solid deathcore record. I will admit that it’s harder to impress me without having any progressive elements; and even though I’m not amazed, I am impresses by what Eat a Helicopter has given me. I’m also very impressed by how much they’ve improved since the release of their Pessimist EP. But they haven’t improved enough. There are plenty of things that need to be worked on and fixed.

The sound/production quality of this album is perfect; nothing at all that I would change about that. The guitarists have nothing unique about them whatsoever; what they play is extremely generic and true to the deathcore genre. The bassist does play some fancy riffs in the last two songs on the record, but other than that, it’s all generic deathcore riffs that follow the kick drums and the guitar harmonization. The drummer is really good, but he screws up a lot in some of the songs. The reason why I’m saying that so harshly is because the ways that he screws up isn’t the kind of screw up that can go unnoticed; it’s a screw up that is VERY noticeable. One of his screw ups (which I will talk about later) is when he’s the only one playing! That’s got to be pretty embarrassing! The vocalist is okay, I’m not really fond of his vocals. His growls are a little high-pitched and have a lot of voice. I tend to like the REALLY deep and guttural growls that have a little bit of breath instead of voice. I’m going to admit that his screams kind of suck. His screaming isn’t HORRIBLE and they don’t pose as a major negative distraction, but they could definitely use a lot of work.

The drummer is one of those “hit big or miss big” kind of guys; he either is freaking awesome, or he completely butchers the part he’s playing. His kick drumming is pristine, but could still use to be a little more complex in some parts. He overuses the china cymbal in almost all of the songs; and even though the china sounds cool, it’s easy to make it an annoyance. The thing he needs to work on is his blast beat. His blast beat in general is great, but it’s going into it that he completely screws up. In the first track, there are two breakdowns where he throws in a blast beat in a very tight spot. The way he butchers it: it takes a second for him to get the blast beat going, so it sounds very sloppy. If he can get to the point where he can just explode RIGHT into the blast beat without having to start out slow, he’ll be just fine.

Overall, this is an EP that I would only recommend to fans of pure deathcore. Don’t expect anything progressive in any sense here. As far as generic deathcore goes, this is fantastic and it’s one of the best TRUE deathcore albums released in the past two years. I would give this 15/20 (which is basically 75%). I really hope to see a FULL LENGTH out of these guys next because I was annoyed by the fact of this release being their second EP in a row.

The video below is the song I talked about the most; listen to the whole thing.

Eat a Helicopter is one of those type of deathcore bands that you love or hate. I happen to love this band dearly them being from where I am from which is Albuquerque, NM. So I have seen them live plenty of times and they are all really awesome dudes to hang out with. But anyway about this EP EaH brings a lot to the table here and it is a huge step up from there first EP release The Pessimist. All the members progressed on their duties and brought something very heavy to the table. Each member has a important role in this band with each one being very different. Now is this a EP to check out or aviod?

There has been a lot of mixed reviews about this release saying it is very generic deathcore but it is a good example of what deathcore should be. And I would have to disagree with them being generic I would say they have a lot of there deathcore/death metal influences in there music but it's not generic. What EaH brings to the table is a very heavy brutal sounding type of deathcore. With extremely heavy riffs, Earth quake breakdowns, low deep vocals and glass shattering highs, very skilled bass works, and excellent drum work. (Even though it's from a drum machine)

Now lets talk about Descend into Darkness, first off with the vocal work from Alex Sterling who is a very unique vocalist his vocals range from being extremely low to extremely high. Unfortunately Alex is no longer in the band because he left to find his career in California but he is now the new vocalist for the local deathcore band Goliath. The two guitarist on this album Leon and Lane bring crazy frantic riffs and breakdowns. Leon having one of the most amazing stage performances I have ever seen out of a guitarist and Lane (Who is no longer in the band also) keeping amazing rhythm work behind Leon's lead guitar work.

Now the bass work, Delbert who is now the lead vocalist of the band but also did backing vocals for them live. Delbert is a very talented bass player I love the bass riffs he came up with on this record all of it is very smooth and very clean. A lot of his bass riffs are very audible and easy to hear which is a great thing. I love what the bass is on this album and I'm going to miss him on there third coming EP, but at the same time I'm excited to hear his vocals on it. Because Delbert is an amazing vocalist as well as a bass player. Now lastly the drums they are from a drum programmer it's not a real person sadly because there drummer Jon is one of the greatest drummer in all of New Mexico. But for the drums being a machine they are very clean but at times things get a little repetitive but that's fine because with all there other musically work makes up for it.

Overall this is a fantastic release with amazing production on it and I'd recommend this release to any fan of deathcore. EaH is going to be the next big thing. They will be signed eventually with two EP releases a third on the way, two music videos, a few live music videos, and topping over 11,000 Facebook likes they soon will get that record contract that they deserve.

You never know what you are going to get with deathcore nowadays, the sudden influx of weird and wonderful forms of deathcore means that the term “deathcore” is merely trivial. What kind of Deathcore? Progressive? Technical? Melodic?, bands from each of those subgenres of deathcore have been popping up everywhere like rabbits. I have seemed to have forgotten a genre, that’s it, deathcore, just pure deathcore. It seems that pure deathcore is having less and less people being drawn to it as everyone wants to be the most technical, progressive, heavy, ect. Eat A Helicopter have decided that they aren’t going to be like everyone else and stay true to true deathcore. Descend into Darkness is an excellent showcase of how true they are to the genre and I must say, its looking good.

I’d like to start off by saying that Descend into Darkness might just be slightly better than The Pessimist. Musically, Eat a Helicopter is a lot tighter and well rounded this time round. I think that even the recording of the ep is head and shoulders above their last ep this time round. I don’t really think that The Pessimist really unleased the true potential of the band. So I’m guessing that Descend into Darkness might have been a redemption kind of thing for the band itself.

There are two types of deathcore bands out there, the ones who are heavy and the ones who aren’t. Judging by Descend into Darkness, I can safely say that Eat A Helicopter is definitely on the heavy side of deathcore. They have the typical attitude of a true deathcore band in their music with is something that gives them their heaviness. In case you aren’t sure what I mean, bands such as Whitechapel and My Autumn also come to mind. Actually, come to think about it, the music on Descend into Darkness sounds if Whitechapel and My Autumn’s music met halfway.

I really don’t like reviewing releases like this because there is literally nothing that much to talk about. Why? because one word pretty much summarises Eat A Helicopter and that’s generic. There is nothing really special about Descend into Darkness other than that it’s a slight improvement over previous EP Pessimist. The guitar work is generic, the musical structure is overused, the vocals are nothing special
 I can pretty much list everything they haven’t done and class everything as generic. I mean, even if the music was generic, it can still be deep and have at least some kind of dimensions to them but I don’t know if I can say that here. I just didn’t feel any kind of special vibes or anything from Descend into Darkness. It’s just another release to me. I know what you’re probably thinking though. “you don’t understand the music” my answer to that would be the fact that there are other underground bands out there in the same vein who make true deathcore more interesting than Eat A Helicopter. Let’s take Bound By Exile as an example, they are one of the best pure deathcore bands out there hitting the underground scene. The main reason why they standout is that Bound By Exile have put a lot of thought in their music. They haven’t just thrown in some breakdowns, deathcore riffs, put in some progressiveness at the end of Descend into Darkness and had the “she’ll be right” attitude. I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t work for me.

Descend into Darkness is nothing but generic, every aspect of their music. I only recommend this to only the diehard deathcore fans out there. I think that Descend into Darkness is mean for those who are into deathcore and nothing but deathcore because this is as deathcore as deathcore can be. Also I’m not going to bother recommending a single track because they’re all pretty much the same. I think that Eat A Helicopter will need to catch up with the rest of the scene or risk being left behind. I give Eat A Helicopter’s Descend into Darkness a 12/20.