Review Summary: With the return of Mat Bruso, Bury Your Dead get their balls back.
When Mat Bruso returned to Bury Your Dead in 2011, their fans foamed at the mouth for a return to their roots. They wished for an effort far removed from the band’s 2009 album,
It’s Nothing Personal. And the band seemed to welcome that return as well, with Bruso proudly flying his “F**k Clean Vocals” colors on their recent effort,
Mosh N’ Roll. However, it could be argued that
It’s Nothing Personal contained structured songs, whereas
Mosh N’ Roll contains nothing but breakdowns. Brendan McDonald (who recorded all guitar and bass tracks on this album) seems comfortable sticking with open-chord chugging, which can be tedious for those seeking creativity on this record. It’s when he actually starts riffing (“Bluebeard” and “The Sirens of Titan” being the best examples on this record) over Mark Castillo’s drumming that the songs gain new life.
The show stealer of the record proves to be Mat Bruso. In the aforementioned songs vs. breakdowns argument,
Mosh N’ Roll prevails over
It’s Nothing Personal due to the energy of Bruso. The returning vocalist utilizes a low-end bark to convey his point and command his theoretical audience. As far as his lyrics go, Bruso covers life, death, relationships, and moshing (the title track is a rerecorded version of their old mosh pit “anthem”, if you will). In keeping with the return of the old Bury Your Dead, which was naming songs in a certain theme, the album’s song titles are all named after the works of Kurt Vonnegut. “Slaughterhouse-Five” is perhaps the best example of the pessimism on display (
“Believing is just another word for self-defeat. Nothing you give will ever mean a f**king thing.”), compared to the lashing out that “Slapstick” provides (
“A closed fist is a powerful thing. You'd hit the ground. You'd run for cover if you know what I mean.”). While the lyrics may come off as juvenile, they’re delivered with enough conviction to make them mean so much more.
In closing,
Mosh N’ Roll can best be described in two words: comfort zone. Bury Your Dead return to their roots and stick to what made them strong in the first place. Gone are the melodic vocals and weird experimentation that
It’s Nothing Personal brought to the table. In its place stands a band that seems to be renewed and are loving every minute of it. In essence, Mat Bruso’s return means that Bury Your Dead gets their passion, energy, and figurative balls back.
“Bury your f**king dead”, indeed.
