Although the “Tempted” video is a “live” performance video, the fact that it takes place in a swamp and that it’s completely a DIY project makes up for the fact that there is no actors or story line to follow. It also doesn’t hurt that Fort Myers’ own Beacons are guiding us all to something that’s incredibly heavy.
Beacons are calling themselves “South Florida Heavy,” and they’re not being misleading in the slightest. This is skull-crushing extreme metal. There are moments during the song that I’m thinking Slayer, but at the same time this band couldn’t be further away from the Slayer sound. As “Tempted” begins, with lots of drums upfront and a haunting guitar sound (the one that reminds me of late-era Slayer), I was a little bewildered as to what I was getting into. The vocals kicked in, the groove set in, and I was sure I was in for some metalcore/As I Lay Dying cloning… especially with the bouncing band members. (No matter what the band sounds like or if I actually like the music, I will never like this bounce-style headbanging.)
About one-quarter of the way into the track, there’s a gravity blast and the tempo changes to a slow, sludgy sound. It’s dark and ominous, and it’s how imagine a Jonesing heroin addict must feel. I used to hate gravity blasts, but over the years I’ve grown to like them, and while Beacons might overuse them in “Tempted,” I’ve never heard them used quite as effectively. At the song’s mid-way point, we enter a chugging, head-bobbing thrash-like section that I really like. The second half of the song, repeats the first half in structure.
Beacons sounds brutally pissed off, their music has a passion behind it, and they don’t sound like poseur frat boys playing heavy music because it’s ironic. These guys are paying their dues right now and it should pay off if they keep up with this level of quality and professionalism, even at a DIY level. Beacons has a challenging road in front of them; the style of heavy music they play isn’t exactly widely accepted, especially by the old guard. And there’s good reason for the genre’s ostracization — there are too many bands out there just cloning this style without bringing anything new to the table, but I hear something new in Beacons, at least in “Tempted.” If all goes well, don’t be surprised to see them on a couple festival runs within the next few years.
If you like what you hear, support Beacons and buy their debut EP, Endless, on MP3 or CD.
Beacons is:
Taylor Bryant | Vocals
Kyle Carter | Guitar/Vocals
Mike Milewski | Guitar
Chris Rossey | Drums
Rock Hard \m/
