Reviewed by:
jetfuel495, on november 26, 2008
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Sound: Right off the bat you can tell that this isn't going to be your average metalcore album. Directly from the start of the first track, "Sentiments of You," you can see the obvious death metal influence with the tremelo-picked intro riff followed by a blast beat. The death metal influence doesn't carry consistently throughout the whole album, much less the whole song, but it can be heard throughout various parts of the album. While Killswitch Engage and All That Remains were working on their own signature sound of metalcore at around the same time, It Dies Today was working on a sound that many metalcore bands would soon pick up on. But that sound wouldn't come until their next release, The Caitiff Choir. The sound featured on this record, however, is far more unique. Many metalcore bands fall victim to repetition, and a lot of them end up sounding the same. But It Dies Today didn't, not on this record. The breakdowns are used tastefully at the right spots, unlike some other bands who rush into breakdowns and never seem to leave. Although, I must admit, some of the breakdowns on this CD do seem to linger for a while. The production quality is a bit raw, since it is their first record, but I believe that just adds to the overall character of it. I've heard a lot of metalcore CDs, more than I would like to admit, but I haven't quite heard one like this before. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: Well, as with most styles of heavy music, the lyrics can be unintelligible at times. This record is no exception. The vocalist is really good at what he does, though. Some metalcore vocalists sound like absolute crap, but this guy sounds good. Well, most of the time he sounds good. Sometimes it seems like he can wear thin at times.
The lyrics themselves, however, are like a win/lose situation. They can be really good at some times, talking about things like betrayal, love, etc, but sometimes they can get a little too "emo" for some people's liking. But yeah, the lyrics go well with the music.
Some of the clean vocals fit in really well, especially in "Blood Stained Bed Sheet Burden." Whoever sings those parts did a pretty good job, but sometimes you can tell they're a little bit off key. Or it could just be the dissonance of the guitars messing with the sound. // 7
Impression: The best songs on this CD are Sentiments Of You, Bridges Left Burning, and Blood Stained Bed Sheet Burden.
The riffing and chugging on some of these songs are pretty interesting, they just make you want to bang your head. But some of the longer, more drawn out breakdowns are a bit monotonous. But all of those really long breakdowns are at the ends of songs, so you can just skip through if you need to.
There may only be six tracks on this EP, but they are six solid tracks. No fillers here. For a first album, it is relatively good. If you are a fan of metalcore (or maybe just metal or core music in general) I recommend you check it out. It is definitely better than a lot of the metalcore albums that have come out recently. Most bands are good in their own sense, but they end up getting stale or ripping off of eachother, or even worse, themselves. But you'll find none of that here. // 8
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