J-Man
Multi-national extreme metal act The Way of Purity are probably best known for their oddball views about the superiority of animal species over humans, which even includes a hope that humans are driven extinct and the world can once again be ruled by nature and animals alone. While I can't help but think of this worldview as anything but ridiculous, I guess ridiculous viewpoints in heavy metal music have been accepted for plenty of years - after all, does this really make any less sense than the Satanic zombie cult necrophiliac bong-ripping ritual lyrics that have been present in extreme variants of metal since its inception? Probably not, and while I tend to think that the band's viewpoints are probably a bit 'tongue-in-cheek', it doesn't have any actual impact on the music.
Speaking of the music, that's where The Way of Purity really shines. Biteback is a pretty short EP that was released in mid-2011, and gives a pretty good insight into the band's style. To my ears, it sounds like a nice mix between melodic death metal, metalcore, and industrial metal. Though these three genres mixed together typically tend to sound too 'polished' for my liking, there's a lot of raw aggression on Biteback even though it does have a very sleek production. The growled female vocals are just as powerful as I demand from an extreme metal release, and I'm also a big fan of the melodic elements that frequently creep into The Way of Purity's music; although it's often backed up by heavy groove-based riffage, the melodic aspect gives all of the songs a strong sense of memorability.
At only nine minutes long, Biteback is on the shorter side, but this is definitely a good example of 'quality over quantity'. While It's nothing too groundbreaking, Biteback is an excellent example of extreme metal music that is both melodic and extremely heavy. This high-quality EP has definitely sparked my interest in discovering the rest of The Way of Purity's discography.