Pat the Human

Pat the Human is a powerful Energycore band with a punk attitude. While a good European metaller like me might normally condemn a band like this for being sissy American music I have to say that Pat the Human manages to beat off those stereotypes and create some great music. With brutal guitar riffs that feature some nice blast beats, the band's attack is impressive. Then the bass work helps to enforce that sound. The drum work is also very well done featuring an aggressive approach that helps make the sound more powerful. The synth work is very tasteful and makes the music a lot more flavorful. Finally we have the vocals which feature an old school hardcore punk attitude and a combination of singing styles. In short, Pat the Human creates some great music that is fun to listen too.

The guitar riffs on this record show a nice combination of styles and are fun to listen to. Some riffs are more deathcore oriented, whereas others have more of a rappish Five Finger Death Punch type of attack. I think my favorite parts are the staccato ones that show off a bit of a nu-metal feel. One example of this would be in the chorus of the title track Eternal Jamnation. I must say that I am a bit upset by the overall lack of solos on this record, but I think that one could argue that they would take away from the point of the EP, and the point of the guitar on this album is to create a heavy basis for the songs to found themselves on.

The bass work on this record is particularly tasty. The bass is turned up about as loud as the guitar and this helps to br00t4lize the sound quite a bit. The heavy bass adds a cool deathcore feel to the music and enforces the guitar riffs. Much like the guitar the bass provides a basis for the melody of the synths and helps keep the sound heavy. The drum work is excellent, the combination of genres is almost djent-like and the drummer manages everything perfectly. One particularly good drum moment is in the bridge of the final track 2K Solutions where the drums hectic attack is controlled to drive a great breakdown. In brief the rhythm section of Pat the Human is on point and extremely powerful.

The Synth work is one of the most interesting aspects of this record. Typically used to support the choruses the synth adds a lot more raw melody to the music. My favorite synth moment is probably during the chorus of the first track Saga the Bull. In Saga the Bull we get to see the synth at it's finest, adding a lot of melody to a very bare and brutal song. The same tactic is used on the following track American (Re)Evolution and is perhaps even more poignant considering the lyrical content of that song.

American (Re)Evolution is probably the only song on the EP that encompasses all the vocal stylings found on this record. With it's memorable chorus of “F*ck you, live free” it does not fail to impress. This song shows the EP's dominance of vaguely crust punk style death growls and the other varying levels of death growl found throughout. It also shows one of the rare clean parts as well as a full band sing a long on the chorus. In other words, the combination of vocal styles on this EP is remarkable and helps make this record memorable.

In conclusion, Pat the Human's new EP adheres to many core maxims, but manages to please even die-hard European metalheads. The guitar work is extremely brutal nad powerful, and with the bass provides the foundation of the music. The drumming is hectic, but perfectly executed when need be. The synths are also tastefully added and help to make a rather un-melodic band much more so. So if you like core, or even just metal in general, be sure to check out Eternal Jamnation by Pat the Human.