Death Before Dishonor "Friends Family Forever" CD
[Bridge Nine]
Seven tracks, 19 minutes, vicious metallic hardcore.  And they're from Boston, no less.  Do the math: It's good stuff.  I wish the recording were a little beefier, but the songwriting is superbly executed.  As one might expect it's built around more of a 90's backbone with plenty of churning midpaced mosh and gruff vocal shouts, tossing in some unexpected dissonant chords or flat out metal riffs for added variety.  More importantly, though, the riffs and arrangements are definitely more memorable and energetic than most of these bands, so these dudes definitely know what's up.  They add a dash of moderate speed on occasion (see portions of "By My Side", among others), and the blend of metal and hardcore is pretty evenly distributed - definitely favoring a stronger era with no bullshit modern trappings of the trendier present day approach.  "Born From Misery" is a great opener that bursts out and never looks back from its pissed off disposition, "Never Again" has plenty of chugga styled breaks and even a few quick pinch harmonics, and "6.6.6. (Friends Family Forever)" is another speedier track with some killer guest vocals from Aaron Knuckles (Death Threat) and a "catchier" sensibility that damn sure has some major impact - bits of melody and all.  As far as the recording goes, it definitely sounds good, but if the guitar tone had a little more of a fluidity to it they'd be set to kill.  The drums sound pretty solid despite having some clickiness going on, and the bass and vocals definitely sound killer.  I wouldn't touch the vocals and the bass is pretty damn prominent in the mix, which I love (not to mention that the bassist totally keeps up with the guitar riffs and often strays into his own realm to add more character to the rhythms).  But as heavy as the guitars are, and they're effective too, there's a little bit of a distant sheen to ‘em that feels somewhat held back.  It's not a problem, but with a hint more of an edge in that department this band would absolutely crush.  The layout looks pretty good and has a couple of band photos with images of rundown cityscapes and such, and of course the lyrics are pissed as hell: "Pray - for death, I can't stop longing for a release from this game of endless suffering, Still I keep taking more of the pleasures that sustain illusion, Drink my life away because I can't free myself from the same day, Just to have a taste of what I could have if I just fucking died..."  That about says it, really.  It's a pretty compact EP that delivers a consistent dose of Death Before Dishonor's brand of hardcore, and those like myself who miss the hardnosed 90's style of metallic hardcore would definitely be recommended to look into this. (7/10)
Running time - 18:43, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Born From Misery, Dying Inside, 6.6.6. (Friends Family Forever)]
Bridge Nine Records - http://www.bridge9.com

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