Review Summary: ΑΩ 7inch is a sign of incremental improvement as well as a fair caveat; two years after the band released a very mundane debut.
I Want You Dead are a four-member band from Greece that play a modern form of hardcore, which focuses almost exclusively on rhythm, with some occasional single-note or chorded melodies between their furious and angry power chords. Their
ΑΩ 7inch album is a testament to that statement and has settled a meager consistency in their style of composition, one that in-turn has made their contributions to hardcore meager too.
But unlike their debut, which was entitled
We Are The Legions Of Scum from 2010, 2/3rds of the album doesn’t consist of boring rehashes of the genre’s most praised and credited for birthing the next generation of musicians. This EP is a step-up, and while it still leaves a lot to be desired, they have done away with their annoying over-use of breakdowns and have managed to pull-together some form of direction with their music. The production (in my opinion) is a lot more clean and is refined enough for listeners to hear the finer details of their commensuration. While the same level of aggression exists on this EP as it did on their debut the vocals are also refined and happen to be more charitable on the ears this time around.
Though
ΑΩ 7inch does not stand-out from the hundreds of other hardcore releases available to listeners, it is enjoyable and suitable enough to claim a spot in an aficionado of the genre’s collection. No one will refer to I Want You Dead as playing any significant role yet, (if ever) in the development of the genre. But at least this EP has the potential to establish the band as third-tier. You know, the category of artists who aren’t renowned or are considered an ‘up-and-coming', but those who help the listener coast on through their shuffled music collection during spontaneous moments of unprovoked anger or violent adolescent angst – even if this said ‘third-tier’ may consist of bands like I Want You Dead which qualify only because they bear enough decent qualities to make them listenable. Albeit a third-rate album, I was satisfied overall with
ΑΩ 7inch and could listen to it again from start to finish several times over before it would start to become stale. If their future releases incrementally improve in the same way that was representative on this EP then I look forward to witnessing the evolution of I Want You Dead in their years to come.
