Review by Jack on May 27, 2003.

Formed at the end of 2001, Papercut Homicide is an outfit comprised of members from Red Sky, Fire @ Zero Gravity, Nemo and The Creature. The press statement released by Retribute Records lists Papercut Homicide as an 'incredibly effective mix of grind, death metal, hardcore, jazz and rock.' "From Filth Comes Grace" is the sort of record that will simply appeal to a wide variety of people, from all walks of the more extreme music life.

Each of the sixteen tracks from "From Filth Comes Grace" sufficiently mixes it up with interesting guitar breaks, alternating vocal styles, and huge variations in tempo. 'A Will to Arson' for instance is possibly the slowest moving and is one of the more somber tracks from "From Filth Comes Grace," but is complete with amusing lyrics, and a rather grim atmosphere. Skip to track fourteen, 'The Thread,' and you are greeted with a far more furious opening riff, insane drumming and doppelganger-like vocals from Jon Burdick. Which brings me to one of the strongest points of "From Filth Comes Grace" – the drumming, its absolutely brilliant, and possibly one of the most consistently interesting performances I have heard for some time. Due to the large variety of styles incorporated by Papercut Homicide (think elements of Killswitch Engage, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pig Destroyer and Eyehategod), you were probably going to assume that each instrument would certainly play a more than standard role. This is certainly true of Phil Hogan who seems to certainly know his way around all extreme music fields and shows enough flair to warrant some extra listening.

Bottom Line: A really diverse, and more importantly, attention-capturing first effort from Papercut Homicide. Combining diversity, easy-going lyrics and songs that don't outlast their welcome makes this a winner in my books. "From Filth Comes Grace" is certainly deserving of an inspection.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 6
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.1 out of 10