Review Summary: In which Bury Your Dead stop the game.
Not since the bowels of
Adema has a band boasted such metal prowess much like Bury Your Dead do on their refreshing new take on a genre no one knew existed. Bury Your Dead are a scarily underrated band who for the first time, in what should be ever in history since I can’t think of another band who tries combining hardcore drums with metal guitars. They've created a whole new genre with
It’s Nothing Personal hardetal. Much like
Hoobastank flipped the game with choosing to break outside their comfort zone with
The Reason; same can be said about Bury Your Dead’s willingness to try and break parabolas with all the tools in their arsenal.
1. “Hurting Not Helping” – Bury Your Dead cement hardetal’s legitimacy with this opening riff right here. It’s in a clever 2/2 time so as to throw you off its every move, keeping you guessing when the next riff will happen – if there even is one. This song makes sure the guitar sounds like the drums so as to bond with the heaviness. And as soon they meet the melody sinks in with Mike Terry belting out a sincere hook that is sung by a black dude for your information. The lyrics, not confusingly at all, sing “I should have never brought you here, I should have told you from the start to run, I should have never let you leave”, and somehow you just know what Terry means, haven’t we all said things like “Tell me I’m everything!! Still it means nothing to you!”. HAVEN’T WE ALL CRIED TO A GREEN DAY ALBUM BEFORE?All in all between this song’s gripping single bass and three riffs, it’s a stifling introduction to Bury Your Dead’s game changer.
2. “Without You” - With a great song title like “Without You” you know you’re going to get something good. Maybe a heavy riff in the same vein as
Trapt – but no, a heavy static noise kicks in and the band start melodic riffing like Killswitch’s thirty-seventh self titled album. Terry sings his 300g heart out only to completely lose his *** in the bridge in which he completely loses his sh
it and screams –wildly, I might add, “Every day I try to make this right” and you can just sympathize with his misery. The song breaks out with a lovely single string guitar solo and then jumps back to its (actual) clever riff to end the song, it’s a pretty complicated ending, but then again, who said hardetal would be easy?
3. “Broken Body” – I know the gruesome picture this song title suggests is troublesome but fear not, it delivers on its premise, this song truly breaks something. Terry
unleashes screaming, “THIS IS REAL PAIN, THESE ARE REAL TEARS, THIS IS THE WORLD FALLING ON ME!”. With words like that it’s no wonder you can find them on www.darklyrics.com. The guitars and drums sync up nicely on this song and they have to to balance out Terry’s dynamic singing. Often switching between his barks and soothiness without any warning the song is the pinnacle of hardetal. The closing number coincidentally proves this as Terry screams, “I WILL FAIL” the band hammer out a single note breakdown somehow and beat the life out of the song. In short, it’s amazing.
4. “The Great Demonizer” – This is one of the darkest songs I’ve ever heard, as Terry commands this track oozing out black metal vocals before completely lulling you with his lullibiac words. The guitar keeps with the theme of the album and repeats the same riff that’s been present on the past four songs, and in tow the drum taps our heartstrings and doing so plays very gently. Bury Your Dead obliterate the sense by dropping the hammer downs and never letting up once the chorus is repeated the second time. From there it’s a brutality as the double bass peeks its head out and the band roar the ending home.
5. “Dead End Lovesong” – Things keep rolling nicely with “Dead End Lovesong” in which the band test the theory of development and try repeating the same song just to see if you’re paying attention. This is where Bury Your Dead are their most clever. They change maybe one or two levels on the amp and only the true fans can notice. Otherwise to all other ears who aren’t used to this new kind of sound will completely miss it. The bridge on this song is one of the more complicated numbers because it includes computerized keys and unless you’re a producer you’ll never have this song mastered. At the end of this song the bass actually has a killer riff, but the band drown it out immediately, so as to keep your expectations short.
6. “Swan Song” – “Swan Song” is as heavy as you think it is. At first. But then it goes in a complete 360! And trips you up with a clean verse that has very little instrumentation and all teeters on Terry’s vocal performance. Safe to say this song comes out on top as most of it resorts to a sexy chugga chugga mentality keeping Terry’s words to a mere two or three sentences. Yes, a rip off, but this song gives the band a chance to showcase their potential. And, boy, do you hear them. Terry comes back strong at the end, with his patented hardetal vocals and it’s a perfunctory conclusion.
7. “Lakota” – Ok, so this song is actually the best thing on the album. There are two or three Terry’s included to somehow make this an impossible live performance song, but never doubt Bury Your Dead. The bridge in this song kicks ass, and it’s all because the band revert to their hardcore styling’s before jumping ship to end it in metal’s territory. The guitar line in this song is what makes it though. I’m a sucker for suckers and melodies, this song gives me both. I love how it sounds like the drums are rolling. It really sets the scene for what “Lakota” truly means, true fans get it.
8. “The Forgotten” – This song keeps the theme of the album in tow, as you sometimes have to check if the number on your Sony Ericsson has changed. This song brings the lyrics back to the forefront waxing poetic numbers like “WHEN YOUR WORDS LOSE TASTE IN MY MOUTH, WHEN THE INK RUNS DRY, AND TIME RUNS OUT” and the
Hoobastank comparisons start to make since. They really nail this song though by sticking to their new 8/8 scheme and then switching it back o 4/4 just to see if you’re paying attention. And this is why we love Bury Your Dead, they’re always checking to see if you’re still alive.
9. “Lion’s Den” – This song never knows it’s coincidental brilliance, as Terry pours out “DO YO EVER WISH YOU WERE SOMEONE ELSE?” and so shines the heaviest light bulb on the planet. This song is very skippable and it should be noted as the albums lowest point. Though it tries to redeem itself with its programmed solo, its programmed drums and programmed vocals, the computer certainly crashed in the end with this one.
10. “Legacy of Ashes” – “Legacy” gets things back on track with its astounding intro. A tribal like drum beat blaring, think Texas, with menacing vocals this song show how far hardetal can go. It jumps between riffing and soloing on the drop of a $100 bill. What’s most impressive however is not the deranged voice or the complicated guitar melody, it’s the bass, and now I’m going to point out that at this point, did you know there was no bass? That’s how heavy this band is.
11. “Closed Eye’s” – “Closed Eyes” has a very second to the last track feel to it. And what’s weird is it’s longer than the closer, that’s something that not the norm for the music industry. It’s kind of like a dubstep song, or maybe more drum n bass. It’s simply beautiful though, with the drums brilliantly guiding this song Terry sings a very touching ode to touching. The guitar peeks it’s head out every now and then to give the track a complete band feel, but for the most part this song is meant to get you ready for the last track, that’s why you have an eleventh track.
12. “Enough” – “Enough” is the closing number, as I hinted at in the previous paragraph. It’s a beautiful piano melody that has no business on this track. But Bury Your Dead are always about breaking down barriers, and hardetal was essentially born on that belief. As the piano plays taps Bury Your Dead cement their legacy, starting a new wave of possibilities for metal and hardcore. In the end this will be known as The Shape of Hardetal To Come.
