Die Alone "The Arcane Suicide Movement" CD
[Corrosive]
Well, this is another in a long line of chaotic metalcore acts that seems to lean towards a death metal sort of influence, and there's actually some cool shit happening with this one, but sadly I still just can't get into it overall. In the band's defense they employ a lot of dual guitar interaction that's a little more creative than normal (the dissonant layering at the end of "The Extinction Ritual" is awesome), and there's definitely some potential to the hoarse vocals, which are walking a line between shouting and screaming with effectively rhythmic vocal arrangements, but despite tending to stick to semi tangible songs, they do still fall victim to throwing in too many changes and riffing styles that come across as a jumbled mishmash that loses steam and lacks feeling. Like many such acts an abundance of annoying pinch harmonics and weak tremolo picking runs clutter several of the tracks, and there's also a lot really sloppy playing that kind of sounds like a lazy Cannibal Corpse with more dissonance. "An Obituary Written in Braille" is shorter and a little more energetic in its use of thrashy rhythms that seem somehow catchier than most of the other material, and the weird break with lightly distorted guitars and programmed percussion is actually a nice touch, believe it or not. Initially "Mending Myself With Staples" opens with a cool discordant riff that has a little bit of a technical flare that actually ends up hitting on some really cool atmospheres, but sadly within a couple of minutes it's nothing but tremolo picking bullshit and generic chugga snippets - with the last three minutes of the nine-minute affair succumbing to faint noisescapes with a few samples or what have you. "Narcissist" is without a doubt the single best song, sticking with more of a midpaced grind that remains consistent throughout and keeps a focused sense of feeling with gritty discordant chords and fucked up lead lines adding texture in the background. I actually really dig that one. The recording is too dirty and the vocals are somewhat dominant in the mix, but other than that it's fairly balanced. I can live with the drum sound even though it gets flimsy, and the bass seems alright even though it's hard to hear in most cases. The vocals are pretty much on point as well, but the guitars ought to be heavier and a little more controlled - both as far as the performances go and with scoring a well honed distortion that would work a little better for some of the frenzied playing as well as the chunkier picking patterns. The layout looks pretty good, though. I can't tell what's going on with the cover, and the gory images are sort of generic, but it has a sense of quality to it and I like the handwritten text in the booklet a lot. I'm neither here nor there on the lyrics - I've seen better, I've seen worse: "A shell that was broken where nothing would bloom. The dirt has been infected by generations of neglect and depression..." These kids definitely have a foundation to work with here, but they basically need to work the most on tightening up their performances and reigning in the recording. Were they to straighten out those two elements this record would already be in a much better position, but it wouldn't hurt at all to toss some of the pinch harmonics and tremolo picking junk in favor of working more in the vein of a song like "Narcissist", which basically shits all over the rest of this album (which all tends to sound similar). I hate to be so critical of bands that do have potential, but there are too many groups out there doing the exact same thing, and these guys need to stop settling for the standard and pushing for something more out of themselves. (5/10)
Running time - 41:14, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: An Obituary Written in Braille, Narcissist]
Corrosive Recordings - http://www.corrosiverecordings.com

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