Jack The Giant Killer - The Drowning King

Jack The Giant Killer - The Drowning King

Jack The Giant Killer is a deathcore band from the land down under, Australia! I came across this band a few years ago when people from a deathcore community introduced me to this band. Initially I thought they were a load of rubbish which had absolutely no structure to it (mind you, I only heard on song). I tried my hardest to get into Jack The Giant Killer at the time, but with no avail. 2 years on and I’m sitting thinking of how much I was a short sighted fool back then to not get into Jack The Giant Killer, because these guys kick ass. Yeah, okay, I admit, their 2008 demo A Dead Man’s Demo wasn’t the best thing to be released in their history but it doesn’t matter about what they have done in the past, it’s what they’ve made in the present and The Drowning King IS the present.

For all those who aren’t familiar with Jack The Giant Killer’s sound (and unfortunately, there are many out there), they are one of those ultra modern, weird, psychedelic sounding deathcore bands. Bands such as Execute the Sinner are in the same Vein (although they’re another underground band, there is not band with a similar sound that has gone mainstream that I know of). These sort of bands are usually highly technical and are just different. Jack The Giant Killer fits into this genre really well.

There is one thing that many other bands that are in the same field of deathcore is missing is atmosphere. Jack The Giant Killer have chosen to implement a very heavy element of atmosphere in this ep. It is very powerful and so uplifting at times, it is probably the highlight of the band’s music. What creates this? Well, I’m glad you asked, the guitar work in The Drowning King is second to none. Everything is in time and I felt that it had the greatest impact on this “atmosphere”. The guitar riffs never get boring unlike many other deathcore bands out there who like it chuggy instead, I don’t know about you, but some chuggy is good, although it is nice to get a little bit of a break from it time to time.

The drumming seems to also have a major impact on the music as well. I find that it’s quite rare for a band to have their drumming as one of the key components in the atmosphere of the album. Jack The Giant Killer have really gone the extra mile to ensure that the drumming is perfect. Each drum beat that is played is on time, clean, clear and has a certain snap to them. I think that the drumming is not too powerful that it over powers everything else, but not too weak that its presence is discredited. The addition of a “humming style double bass” just adds to the sheer awesomeness of The Drowning King.

Not everything in The Drowning King is super brutal and super heavy. Not all deathcore bands aim to be the most br00tal and most the extr3m3. Jack The Giant Killer is a great example of how peaceful deathcore can also be. There are short passages of soothing, jazz style of music which are usually accompanied by some hardcore vocals. This just adds that extra dimension to their music which keeps it interesting and entertaining. Not only this, but they have also thrown in some extra acoustic passages and group shouts, which emphasise the music farther. 

Overall, Jack The Giant Killer is one of the most underrated bands out there in Australia. They definitely deserve more attention than what they are already receiving and I think that there are numerous of oblivious fans out there who would enjoy Jack The Giant Killer’s sound. Although there is a new breed of deathcore which Jack The Giant Killer is a part of, there aren’t any bands out there who do it quite like Jack The Giant Killer and I mean that in a completely positive way. The Drowning King is full of surprises and I recommend this to anyone who like progressive or powerful/uplifting or anyone who is looking for something a little more or peaceful than just your average deathcore band. I also recommend the track The Beast (War Of The Wolves) for anyone who is not familiar with Jack The Giant Killer because it pretty much makes a statement for the band. Although I cannot say whether or not they will revolutionize the whole genre, I am curious to how long it will take for Jack The Giant Killer to have their name out on the world stage. I give Jack The Giant Killer’s The Drowning King a 17/20.