Cultist: A Future Cult Classic| Posted July 25, 2023 What You Need To Know
Cultist, a Christian deathcore band, released their second full-length record, Slow Suicide, under Facedown Records. Cultist is one of the heaviest bands on the roster, with several singles preceding the band's exciting album. Something more special about Cultist is that it has been a one-person project primarily led by musician Jon Davenport.
What It Sounds Like
Slow Suicide is an aggressive, non-stop, heavy musical journey through faith and life. Every song in the album's 27 minutes is full of mosh-pit fuel and deathcore excellence--or, as they dub themselves, "Spirit-filled beatdown." The brooding, distorted music lends itself to the crushing vocals that vocalist Jon Davenport puts down.
Spiritual Highlights
You can find plenty of spiritual depth and maturity in Jon's songwriting. He did an excellent job writing about spiritual struggles, mental health, and life's hardships while having a biblical foundation to depend on. The self-titled track opens with a focus on suicidal struggles. "Preacher III" condemns Christian leaders who are wolves in sheep's clothing, a common topic in Christian metal. "Memento Mori" is a despondent view of end times, recognizing that "Heaven is when there is no more death."
"Hell of My Design" tackles a daily struggle with faith, echoing the Apostle Paul's struggles with "I've lost count/how many times did I pray/only to wind up in this same place." The next song continues this with a feeling of guilt, "I Fear Your Silence" is about worrying about what a seemingly distant Father would say when we return to prayer.
"Suffering by my Own Hand" acknowledges that our struggles are often our own and prays, "Father, I'm sorry/Lord, I Repent." The lead single, "Let Me Feel Everything," is a call for help, for a sympathetic heart. And the closing track, "Last Breath of a Dying God," is a beautiful surrender with the closing lyric of "Take me when there's nothing left."
Best Song
Each song on Slow Suicide is on full-throttle-beatdown at its finest. The standout song, "Let Me Feel Everything," takes on an outstanding balance of songwriting, highlighting the mental and spiritual struggles while calling for help. Musically, the song is brutal, and the lyrics are raw. The vocals are satisfyingly heavy and are well-enunciated, especially in the song's chorus. If you want an idea of how heavy Cultist can get, listen to this song.
Cultist's Slow Suicide puts their excellence in beatdown metal on full display. Although Cultist may not introduce any groundbreaking elements to the genre, it certainly delivers a powerful experience to your ears. The music has some variety, though, such as an extra double kick, rhythm changes mid-song, and an incredibly haunting atmosphere.
Slow Suicide only falls short in sticking to its guns, which isn't even wrong. I'm excited to see where Facedown Records and Cultist will go with this impressive debut to launch forward.
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