The Callous Daoboys - ‘God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys’ review
The Callous Daoboys
One of the core names, if not THE name in mathcore right now is The Callous Daoboys. Following the success of their 2022 album, and a riotous UK festival debut this summer, the troupe are now set to release their first self-titled release tomorrow, God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys. Here's what we think:
Mathcore is experimental music at its centre, and TCD promised a "seismic shift in sound". The opening track 'Pushing the Pink Envelope' is an assault of a first track. It has an almost celestial feel thanks to Amber Christman's work on strings/synths. This gets chopped in half by the chunkiness of Jackie Backalew's bass. Imagine Dillinger Escape Plan’s '43% Burnt', but in space. This achieves that innovative sound they were looking for, as you can't exactly pin the "Mathcore'' tag on it. One of the main things is that it doesn't seem to end, when played live you could probably weaponise this track. There aren't many bands putting out the same level of chaos that Daoboys are these days.
'Waco Jesus' carries on that trend of frenetic songs with some mind-bending changes in pace. Instruments stole the show in 'Pink Envelope', but this feels like a true vocal performance. Something about the cleaner vocals from Carson Pace in this track was entrancing. When speaking on the track, they said it was about "being unable to take a compliment". True to intent, this does project a sense of unease bordering on satanic chanting. That said, it's all backed up by some guitar work that doesn't seem to know how good it is, this is like butter. So much happens in four minutes, this is an excellent step forward for the band's repertoire.
Final instalment of the EP is 'Designer Shroud of Turin' (Feat. pulses). This is something else altogether. I'd like to think this track got recorded separately, blind, and mashed together at high speed, but it wasn't. This feels deliberately violent and beautifully chaotic. There's sax, salsa, and six minutes of someone punching you in the eardrums. The breakdown at the end, combined with Matthew Hague's drumming throughout, was excellent. Flip a coin on which track has the stronger vocals from Carson, as this is equal to 'Waco Jesus'. This was the only track not to have been released before the EP. Many will be saying they kept the best for last.
The Atlanta sextet had big shoes to fill from previous effort Celebrity Therapist. The run up to God Smiles Upon...promised "innovative and unconventional songwriting". Check. There was talk of "transcending genre limitations", which many promise, and few accomplish. Check. Finally, a quote from vocalist Carson Pace said "We want to be the defining band of this weirdo genre-swapping heavy music". I would say they're well on their way.
God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys is available on major platforms. You can order physical copies of this ONCE ONLY pressing via their Bandcamp and MNRK Heavy. The band has select US dates still on sale until the end of the year. You can also catch them on tour in Europe with the excellent Unprocess and TesseracT in January.
God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys from The Callous Daoboys is out now via MNRK Heavy. The Callous Daoboys is Carson Pace (vocals), Daniel Hodsdon and Maddie Caffrey (guitars), Jackie Buckalew (bass), Amber Christman (violin/synths) and Matthew Hague (drums).