Bury Your Dead "You Had Me at Hello" CD
[Eulogy]
This is a re-release of Bury Your Dead's debut CD (originally released by Alveran Records in 2002) with an all new layout.  Expect 10 succinct tracks (to the point where the thing actually plays out more like EP at just about 23 minutes total) of chugging metallic hardcore very much in line with their recently issued disc on Victory Records.  I guess some of these songs were actually re-recorded on "Cover Your Tracks" under different and Tom Cruise themed song titles, because I'm definitely already familiar with a few of these songs (namely "Tuesday Night Fever" and "So Fucking Blues").  You know what you're in for: Plenty of crushing midpaced mosh breaks, some European styled metalcore riffing that's farther removed from hardcore, and strained vocal shouts delivering the bitterness.  There seems to be a little more speed at times, though nothing that's truly fast, rather just hinting at more of a traditional metallic hardcore drive on occasion.  On the other hand, there are a couple of breakdowns that emphasize more of the typical chugga chugga stomp on this thing, but that's not a surprise at all.  "Burn Baby Burn" contains little hints of dissonant melody at times, as does "Cammo is My Favorite Color" in very similar fashion, but there's not much melody to be had in any way with this stuff.  They stick with the pissed off two-minute songs full of power chords and that's about it.  Oh, and closer "Mosh ‘n' Roll" is the exact same pit inducing outro they did on the new record: Shout, "Bury your fuckin' dead!", repeat, repeat, etc.  The production is pretty damn good.  It's thick as fuck and therefore quite heavy, and I don't really have any complaints.  The vocals have a little more texture than anything else, but the guitars pretty much run the show, the drums sound alright, and the bass is back there.  The basslines do tend to get lost, but it's not a big deal.  The guitar tone hints at the weird overproduced churn that the Victory disc has, but it's not that far overboard, so even though this stuff is somewhat groovy it's a little smoother (though it's not as clear or polished). The layout looks fine and uses brightly colored images of bright lights and glitz with clean and simple text.  Lyrically the material deals with your usual share of revenge and perseverance, be it at the hands of lies and deceit or relationships or whatever.  There's a little sarcasm in there to account for some of the over the top content, and that actually helps because it insinuates that you can't take things but so seriously.  "There is only death and dying.  Let's wipe those tears away.  We are all born into this world alone and we all die alone.  You're not the only one, everyone has their own problems..."  I see absolutely no reason whatsoever why anyone who likes their disc on Victory wouldn't be equally as into this.  In some ways this one's actually a hint more energetic, but the recording's not as clear and that song "Magnolia" still eclipses everything else the band's ever done.  I've got some major hopes that this band is going to kick my ass all over the place when their next record drops, though. (7/10)
Running time - 23:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Dragged Out and Shot, So Fucking Blues, Burn Baby Burn, 69 Times a Charm]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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