Review Summary: An album featuring all of metalcore's hallmarks, from breakdowns to screamed verses and sung choruses. However, it manages to distinguish itself from most other releases...simply because It Dies Today do everything just a little bit better.
I still remember the first time I heard It Dies Today. It was late night one night, and I was sitting up because I couldn't sleep. I flipped around the channels on my newly-acquired satellite TV and found an episode of Metal Asylum on FUSE (back when FUSE actually had decent metal programming; R.I.P. Mistress Juliya). She was introducing a video by a band that I had heard of before, but had never much listened to--It Dies Today. I saw a kid eating a sandwich and then a car blowing up, and I was hit in the face with the furious intro of the lead single off of this album, "A Threnody For Modern Romance." Right away, the fact that the title actually had a word like "threnody" in it caught my attention. It wasn't the general dark metal song title, it actually had some form of depth to it. Then, when I heard the outright catchiness of the chorus, I was sold.
A few years later, here I am. It Dies Today is probably my favorite metalcore band of all time. I have all their albums and had the opportunity to see them live (with amazing new singer Jason Wood). So, this review might have a little bit of bias...be warned.
When I rushed out to buy this album soon after hearing "Threnody," I was surprised at the first song. "My Promise" certainly doesn't pull any punches, and is not your typical run-of-the-mill metalcore introduction track. I kind of figured that most of the album would be similar to the lead single, as in it would have some heaviness and brutality, but also have an insanely catchy chorus as well. However, this only proved to be half true, as "My Promise" screams and destroys all the way through, filled to the brim with chugging breakdowns and shrieked vocals.
The next song, "Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads" gets back to the patented scream-sing formula, although done with a tad bit more flair then your typical metalcore band. I feel that this is a good opportunity to mention one of the album's biggest strengths, and in my opinion the biggest reason It Dies Today stands apart from everyone else--the lyrics. Nick Brooks is an amazing lyricist, one who is not afraid to use every word in his surprisingly expansive vocabulary. He kind of reminds me of a metalcore equivalent of Eminem...he can take words that you would never expect to be in songs and just...make them work. An example from the previous song: "
Her mournful screams/Were like a melody of unimaginable beauty/I forced her hand in mine/As we danced to her song of lament/Oh how I reveled in the gratification/The slaying of a most loathsome one." Even though this probably isn't the strongest track lyrically on the album, it shows that It Dies Today aren't content writing songs about broken hearts and blackened eyes (although some of their lyrics touch on similar subjects).
The melodic intro of "The Radiance" is next, and I was introduced into yet another side of It Dies Today, the full-on melodic one. With almost no screaming whatsoever, "The Radiance" could be considered more of a straightforward rock song, and compared to the rest, maybe even a "ballad." This track somewhat soothes the listener's ears and shows a more vulnerable side of Nick and It Dies Today, while still keeping the utter catchiness found throughout the entire record. The lyrics are a lamenting love song of sorts, and are very heartfelt.
With these three tracks, you basically get a blueprint for the album, which can be divided into three sections.
Heavy Songs
"My Promise"
"The Depravity Waltz"
"The Caitiff Choir: Revelations"
Melodic Songs
"The Radiance"
"Marigold"
"Naenia"
A Mix of Both
"Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads"
"A Threnody For Modern Romance"
"Freak Gasoline Fight Accident"
"Our Disintegration"
"The Caitiff Choir: Defeatism"
The descriptions of the rest of the songs basically fit with the category. All of the heavy songs are full of double bass, thrashing riffs, brutal vocals and massive breakdowns, with no singing whatsoever. Their purpose is basically to crush your skull as much as possible. The melodic songs are poppy and chorus-driven, and are destined to stay stuck in your head for days. The screaming is sparse (if present at all) and definitely not the main focus of the song. Breakdowns are noticeably absent as well, with the guitars and drums all having a slower, less technical, more groove-oriented feel. The rest of the tracks take a page from both the heavy and melodic books, and combine the best elements of both. "Freak Gasoline Fight Accident" and "The Caitiff Choir: Defeatism" have insane breakdowns, and "A Threnody For Modern Romance" and "Our Disintegration" maintain the poppy chorus. The instruments on these five songs go from melodic to heavy seemlessly, and the band seems to blend the two styles together effortlessly, resulting in a satisfying blend of styles that should appeal to fans of metal and emo alike.
The instruments on the album deserve a mention, as this band seems to be overshadowed a lot by talk of the vocalist Nick Brooks. It's a damn shame, as guitarists Mike Hatalak and Chris Cappelli are more than capable of holding their own against most anyone who is prevelent in the scene today. Their riffs are never really the focus of a song, as I feel that It Dies Today isn't really a band that is driven by guitars, but the riffs serve to accentuate a song in a more underhanded, yet no less significant way. Bassist Steve Lemke keeps the rhythm well with his bass, not standing out but still doing his fair share. Drummer Nick Mirusso is extremely underrated, as I feel that his drumbeats are a central part of It Dies Today's music. He is creative as a drummer, breaking out from the normal uses of double bass, fills and rolls. To sum up Nick Brooks' backing band, they are not exceptionally impressive, but they do what they're supposed to. And they do it well.
Now we move on to Nick himself. He is a very capable vocalist, as is evidenced on most of the album. It's rare that you find a metalcore vocalist who has a fairly decent screaming range and is also able to make every singing section substantially different. Almost all the singing parts in metalcore rarely ever sound different from each other (especially ones on the same album) and the songs sometimes lose steam as a result. However, Nick sings each song on this record with enough flair and uniqueness to give each song its own distinct voice. It's too bad that he could never really transfer his talent over to a live setting. I've seen several videos on YouTube, and his voice lacks the strength it has in the recording. He is also off-key in nearly all of the choruses of songs. Thankfully, new vocalist Jason Wood is more than capable of pulling off both the guttural and not-so-guttural vocal melodies live.
Pretty much the only flaw that I can find with this album is the fact that although every member of It Dies Today performs very well, the group don't really break any new ground sonically. When you examine the song structures and formula, it's pretty much the same as every other metalcore band. So if you're looking for tons of innovation, perhaps you should look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for metalcore done right with beautiful, rich lyrics and songs that get stuck in your head for days, then check out
The Caitiff Choir.
Recommended Tracks
"Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads"
"Freak Gasoline Fight Accident"
"Marigold"
"The Caitiff Choir: Defeatism"
