Written By McKauley Kitterman
Right out of the gate, Saltwound hits the ground running, launching into The Temptation of Pain with all the subtlety of a freight train barreling down the tracks. Their sound is an unforgiving assault of extravagantly distorted riffs, brutal breakdowns, and gut-punching vocals that leave no room for breathing—just pure, unrelenting chaos. As they carve their way through the metal landscape, it’s clear that this Sacramento-based trio isn’t here to play nice; they’re here to ignite the scene and dismantle everything in their path.
The band is quickly building momentum, gaining an ever-growing army of fans in the metal community. Their fusion of deathcore and metalcore feels like a massive sonic collision, a calculated explosion of aggression and technicality that has both mosh pits and online forums buzzing with excitement. Every track is an unpredictable ride, loaded with seismic grooves and lightning-fast riffs that demand attention. And just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they pull the rug out from under you, twisting their sound into something darker, more sinister, and occasionally a little off-kilter in the best possible way.
With The Temptation of Pain, Saltwound isn’t just joining the ranks—they’re crashing the gates of the genre like a hurricane in a guitar case. Their music feels like an unholy concoction of pure energy and calculated destruction, and with each song, they’re proving they can only get more ferocious. Fans of aggressive metal need to buckle up, because Saltwound is just getting started—and it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
The band—consisting of Spencer Timmons (vocals), Shawn Williams (guitar), and Marty Delgado (bass)—masterfully blend deathcore and metalcore, delivering bone-shattering grooves and haunting melodies, a sound they’ve coined “NORCAL VIOLENCE.”
Deathcore powerhouse Saltwound is primed to make their boldest statement yet with The Temptation of Pain, their highly anticipated full-length debut via SHARPTONE Records out now!
“With every release, we try to create something that sounds different from what we’ve done in the past,” notes Spencer. “We never want to be a one-trick pony. It’s easy to find a niche and suck the well dry. We’re trying to evolve though. I think we achieved that with this album.”
“To me, ‘Temptation’ is more like attraction,” he reveals. “As a culture and a society, we’re attracted to things that hurt us and cause us pain. Negativity gets more ‘clicks’. These aren’t positive things that uplift our lives, but we gravitate to them. It applies to my personal life. Being in a band is hard, so why don’t I put my effort into going back to school and getting a safe nine-to-five job? It’s because I’m attracted to what causes me stress. The same goes for relationships. So, every song touches on an element of being drawn to what causes hurt and pain.”
A formidable force of unrelenting aggression, the album erupts with blistering riffs and a raw intensity that will stand as some of the most savage moments in metalcore this year. Tracks like “Walking the Blade,” “Hollow,” and “Severance” are Viscerally Metal As Fuck!
Twenty-nine minutes. That’s all you need to make you go into a primal rage so intense that you’ll swear you lived with cave folk. Less than forty seconds is what I need to begin the process.
The audiological assault begins slowly with a droning bend-and-release followed by thick bass and a beat down drum riff that gets you ready for one of the most anger-filled voices I’ve heard since I started listening to The Acacia Strain. The aural assault continues transforming you with barks and a simple line, “We all burn alive!” and “Let the suffering begin.”
From start to finish, this album is nothing short of what they proclaim on their Spotify bio, “NorCal Violence”. This record seamlessly blends crushing grooves, beatdown riffs, brutal vocals, and insane tone to bring you as close to becoming a Kyle as you’ve ever been! The songs blend one after another on The Temptation of Pain which makes it all the better in this writer’s opinion.
I hadn’t heard of this group prior to this album, but, damnit, I’m glad I know them now! Let me tell you – if you need a push in the gym to do just one more rep, just one more lap, just one more (anything), this is the release that will do just that.
Immediately, I knew this record was on my Album of the Year list! Saltwound – FFO: KKT, Knocked Loose.
I give this album a rating of 5 out of 5 horns up!
The Temptation of Pain is Out Now Via SharpTone Records.
The Temptation of Pain Tracklist:
1.We All Burn
2.Blight
3.Empty From The Start
4.Circle The Drain
5.The Temptation Of Pain
6.Hollow
7.Walking The Blade
8.The Righteous Hand
9.Ensnared
10.Severance
