fordirelifesake
Breathing in Is Only Half the Function

Release Date: 2003 | Tracklist

fordirelifesake - Breathing In Is Only Half the Function

Converge, Botch, Earth Crisis, Hoods, Zao, Hatebreed, blah blah, etc. There are too many metalcore band that have been pinned down as "legendary." Many are; Converge practically invented the genre along with Earth Crisis back in the early to mid 90s, and others have plenty of cred, but, in general, metalcore is such a specific genre that the general sound doesn't vary too much across the board. Every band has a different approach and style, but a lot of the instruments used are the same like a huge preference for ESP guitars, and a lot of production techniques are similar, thanks to Kurt Ballou engineering, producing, playing on, or doing the artwork for every single freaking metalcore album ever. The result is that the genre feels like the subgenre of the subgenre of the subgenre it really is, whereas its parent genres, metal and hardcore, both have endless varieties to the point of absurdity (see nintendocore and viking metal). This uniformity isn't always bad though. Whether you like the more metallic stance of Converge and Botch, the christian slant of Zao and Norma Jean, or the more dry, hardcore feel of Hatebreed and Hoods, there's items to pick out and enjoy. However, few of these bands are in the game to be catchy. They typically are writing this particular type of music to be brutal and unyielding, which also contributes to the overall similarity of the sound. So what happens when metalcore bands purposefully move away from being brutal? Bands like All Else Failed, Codeseven, and Blindside all changed their genre away from metalcore, embracing more pop rock as time went on, and a few bands, actually maintained the proper metalcore tag, while simultaneously sounding extremely different than any other metalcore band. Life in Your Way, for example, sound like a catchier version of Shai Hulud because instead of writing dissonant passage they wrote everything in a very catchy, melodic fashion. My favorite band to infuse melodic leanings into their personal brand of metalcore is fordirelifesake (forgive their terrible name and lyrics for now).

Fordirelifesake, on their first LP Breathing In Is Only Half the Function, uses all of the metalcore tricks we've heard before: pinched harmonics, high pitched guitar riffs, double bass, breakdowns, solos, screamed and growled vocals. However, they do all of this in a major key instead of a minor key or an atonal collection of totally br00tal notes. All of the melodies are catchy and upbeat, instead of being dark and dissonant. While normally, this would dilute the intensity of their sound, fordirelifesake compensates by speeding up their pace, and layering their leads a lot more than most other metalcore bands. Their guitars rarely stop the speedy contrapuntal exchange that reminds me of a less angular Hot Cross or a faster Life in Your Way. Also, the drums often feature punk beats to keep the pace rather fast. Most of the time though, the drums don't quite make it to a permanent beat because the song structures are all over the place. Fordirelifesake usually jumps around very quickly from idea to idea. Even at the introduction of the album "10-31-99" (the date of the band's first practice), there isn't one idea or moment that lasts much longer than a phrase without throwing in some twist, new concept, or variety. This frantic alternation of styles and riffs gives the listener the impression that fordirelifesake is speeding along faster than any other metalcore band short of Converge at their grinding moments. Then when considering that all of their songs are really catchy with very poppy melodic ideas, the whole process feels like listening to two opposing bands like Set Your Goals and In Flames at the same time, but twice as fast. There is no compromise of brutality in the creation of catchiness here because the technicality and speed is just incredibly strong throughout the whole album.

There are some downsides though. Fordirelifesake's style is very precise and for the melody to emerge, you need to be able to hear what's going on at all times. Unfortunately, the mixing isn't so great (and this is a remixed and remastered edition), which leaves a lot of the songs sounding very tinny and hard to pick apart. You can still get the impression of catchiness that is cast by foredirelifesake's style, but finding individual parts other than whatever lead is shredding away at any given moment, is very very difficult. Also, fordirelifesake don't help themselves out at all because they layer a lot of their guitar with weird effects that muddles up the mix even more. Another prominent downside is the lyrical content. Their lyrics, and band name and song titles for that matter, read like BS livejournal ramblings from depressed suburban teenage girls. They're in like MCR mode with how bad they are. It's almost funny that a band that seems so mature on an instrumental level wouldn't be able to write decent lyrics worth their life. However, the lyrics are barely discernible anyway because all of the vocals, except the background vocals, are screamed in a really gravelly and strong way, muddling the lyrics beyond recognition.

Overall, this album is freaking insane. Though a little rough hewn and juvenile in the mix and lyrics, the instrumentals are undeniably catchy, yet also maintain the brutality that is demanded and expected of a metalcore band. I feel like this album is an anomaly and has yet to be imitated or duplicated. This may be because fordirelifesake isn't particularly popular, and rarely leaves Michigan, but I also feel it's a testament to their unusual, major-key style that has made this album an unexpected favorite among the few metalcore albums I own.

Recommended Tracks: 10-31-99, Just a Memory, Sometimes Like the Tide

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3.8 excellent

Rank: #0 for 2003