Watch Them Die "s/t" CD
[Century Media]
They may have ex-members of Grimple, El Dopa, Buzzoven, Schlong, and more, but don't expect all that much along the lines of said bands. A riff here and there, a few minor influences, sure... but this is vicious thrashy metal with some grind aspects thrown in along with a few dashes of dissonant melody or sludginess. The vocals range from sneering midrange shouts to sick screams and are often layered to an insane degree, which really keeps a high level of energy rolling through. Oddly enough most of the songs run nearly six minutes, with a few topping seven or eight, so the misleadingly brief record of seven tracks clocks in at more 40 minutes. I think that can be a problem on occasions, because the songs really don't need to be that long, and rather than get boring they sort of become less interesting at times. "Fall From Grace" contrasts raging speeds with some of the most powerful melodies and slower rhythms of the entire CD, "Sadist Ways" is overall slower and ironically shorter than any of the other tracks... there's plenty going on. "Resurrection" opens with some clean guitars and fucked up spoken vocals and even introduces some great female singing in the distance - definitely the best of the longer tracks herein, staying interesting for its duration. The recording is unique as far as the texture of the guitar tone and the vocals, but it needs some tweaking for clarity and force. There's not enough low-end at all. None of the tones are bad, but at the very least the bass needs to be louder. Ideally though the guitars would be crunchier, the bass would be louder, and the drums would be slightly more resonant. It works though, the writing is strong enough to carry the songs, and the recording isn't detrimental so much as just not what it could be. The layout looks pretty cool. The artwork has a unique look to it, the band photos aren't so bad, and the text looks fine. Lyrically the songs don't repeat that often, and there's actually a large amount of content in each track - none of which is peppy! "Welcome the new and say our goodbyes, A praise of elders bury our blood, our land is sacred with water comes mud, Like dogs of war from another world we gather and feast, A taste for blood, loss of life, We sleep with fire, awake at dawn, running over the ground, Travel onward into the smoke..." This band sort of came out of nowhere to me, but I'm glad I grabbed it. I'm not blown away, but I'll be keeping an eye on 'em. (7/10)
Running time - 42:35, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Fall From Grace, Sadist Ways, Resurrection]
Watch Them Die - http://www.watchthemdie.com

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