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Staff
Reviews 108
Soundoffs 131
News Articles 7
Band Edits + Tags 49
Album Edits 53
Album Ratings 1807
Objectivity 79%
Last Active 01-10-23 3:56 pm
Joined 04-16-12
Review Comments 18,856
| YoYo's Excellent Every Time I Die Ranking
One of the most consistently great bands to ever do it. Hopefully their upcoming album will land high on a future ranking! Also friendly reminder if you disagree that I am correct and you are not. | | 8 |  | Every Time I Die
Last Night in Town
2.5/5. Plenty of good riffs, barely any good songwriting to the point where most of this album sounds like a continuity error. Keith is a far cry from what he would become on this record, and the production also leaves a lot to be desired. Best track: Here’s Lookin’ At You | | 7 |  | Every Time I Die
Gutter Phenomenon
3.5/5. Gutter Phenomenon starts out incredibly strong, but is unable to maintain this brilliance over its entire runtime. Opener “Apocalypse Now and Then” is one of the strongest tracks ETID have ever released, and the first half manages to keep upping the ante with gems like “Bored Stiff” and “Tusk and Temper”. The second half is a bit more homogenous, with several tracks like “Champing At the Bit” or “Guitarred and Feathered” overstaying their welcome by quite a bit. Also is it just me, or is it hard to hear the bass on this one? Best track: Bored Stiff | | 6 |  | Every Time I Die
Ex Lives
3.7/5. “Underwater Bimbos” is one of their best ever, but Ex Lives has always felt like ETID by the numbers to me. Many of the shorter songs feel like blasts of pointless noise, as opposed to briefer songs with compelling structures like “The Marvelous Slut” from NJA. Longer cuts like “Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow” and “Indian Giver” deliver big time, but the inconsistency of Ex Lives lands it at #6. Also, one of the best songs from these sessions, “Grudge Music”, can only be found on the deluxe version. Best track: Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space | | 5 |  | Every Time I Die
Hot Damn!
3.7/5. Some might be surprised to see this one at number five, but I have my reasons. Hot Damn! Is an astronomical improvement over the underwhelming Last Night In Town, and the band feels like they’re truly in control of their sound for the first time here; listen to the chaos of “Floater” or “Ebolarama” if you don’t believe me. There are still some jarring transitions and tempo changes that don’t always work, usually short slower sections that feel shoehorned in for no reason at all (see the riff towards the end of “Romeo A Go-Go” that sounds like it’s leading to a breakdown, only to immediately go back into fast blast beats for an example). Also, Buckley’s voice has yet to develop here, which hasn’t aged the record well. Still a very enjoyable listen, though. Best track: Floater | | 4 |  | Every Time I Die
The Big Dirty
4/5. Right from the opening moments of “No Son of Mine” it becomes clear that ETID have reinvented themselves as a band with a more controlled and powerful energy, and from a writing standpoint, this might be Keith Buckley at his wittiest. The Big Dirty was the album that proved ETID could maintain consistency over an entire record, rather than just show occasional flashes of genius. Listeners are granted access to some of the band’s most primal moments, like “Pigs Is Pigs” or the jaw-dropping “Rebel Without Applause”. Best track: Pigs Is Pigs | | 3 |  | Every Time I Die
New Junk Aesthetic
4.7/5. NJA is where Every Time I Die finally realized their full potential. Sporting newly improved production and a tracklist that flows smooth as butter, New Junk Aesthetic would likely be any lesser band’s greatest work ever. This was a rapid evolution of both the band’s harder and softer sides. Opener “Roman Holiday” sees the group slow it down to a grind and sit in the pain, while “Wanderlust” and “White Smoke” boast addictive vocal stacks that illustrate Keith’s marked improvement since his earlier days. NJA also introduced drummer Ryan Leger, whose highly musical playing helps him turn in a performance to remember. Best track: Wanderlust | | 2 |  | Every Time I Die
From Parts Unknown
5/5. From Parts Unknown has only one item on its agenda; pure, unbridled ferocity. Masterfully produced by Kurt Ballou, FPU is easily Every Time I Die’s most punishing album, containing astonishingly heavy moments like “Exometrium” or the unbelievable “Idiot”. Even token slower cut “Moor” packs a heavy emotional punch, only to match that energy with its massive second half. The band manages to keep songs on the shorter side but still give them all their own unique identities; just look at how “Thirst” packs more into a 90-second window than most bands can fit into a 4-minute song. Best track: Idiot | | 1 |  | Every Time I Die
Low Teens
5/5. Somehow the album with the highest Sputnik average seems to have the most vocal haters, but I’m certainly not one of them. Low Teens was an absolute triumph for ETID, not only because of its revelatory lyrical content, but also because of all the risks that were taken from a songwriting perspective. The band have never been more accessible to a non-metal audience than they are on “Two Summers” and “It Remembers”, and despite having their fair share of detractors, these tracks succeed in my eyes and show that the band can still kill it outside of their comfort zone. Also on display are their two most impressive epics, “Religion of Speed” and “Map Change”, the latter of which functions as the album’s emotional apex and cements Low Teens as my #1 pick. Best track: Map Change | |
YoYoMancuso
05.13.21 | honorable mention: michael jackson - thriller | FabiusPictor202
05.13.21 | hot damn is amusingly low, very good band tho | FabiusPictor202
05.13.21 | also id prolly switch 2 and 1 but props for having parts unknown so high | YoYoMancuso
05.14.21 | FPU is the one that everyone should appreciate regardless of which era of the band they prefer. It’s just relentless. | RadioSuicide
05.14.21 | FPU has the only 5 I've given this band. mental record, especially when paired with Salem | gschwen
05.14.21 | Seems like an oversight to not crown Logic of Crocodiles as the best on LNIT | onionbubs
05.14.21 | swap 1 and 6 then move nja and hot damn in front of everything and you have mine (not sure which is better probably nja) | YoYoMancuso
05.14.21 | NJA is for sure better than Hot Damn imo haha |
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