Dead in the Water "Less Days Left Until the Final Rest" CD
[Thrash and Burn]
Awesome... more darkly metallic hardcore/punk from this Finnish act. This time out the writing is still based largely around moderately paced rhythms, but there's a greater sense of dissonance to the writing, and the melody is more carefully integrated into the chords and lead lines. It's heavy and plodding, but the approach is more original here, and more diverse as well... they're definitely shedding the His Hero is Gone type of sound. Sure, such influences aren't out of line to mention here, but I think Dead in the Water is working towards an even bleaker and more metallic sort of direction to some degree. I love the sick midrange vocal sneers, at times layered with lower growls as well. "Part II Dawn of the Saddest Day" has some thick chords and a barely faster attack that bring to mind the atmosphere of classic black metal, and I'd like to hear some of that tempo variation more often for sure. And hell, a couple of the riffs towards the latter chunk of "Path of the Hollow Figures" have a good dose of Black Sabbath in 'em! Closer "Part III The Reflection of the Failure" begins with some haunting clean guitars and droning bass melodies with a ringing reverberation going on in the distance, and the mood is really fucking nice... I like the recording. I definitely think the guitars need to be crunchier because they fall flat when they're left out on their own, but the drums sound fucking great, and the bass tone is sheer perfection - always letting the rhythm section add low-end and drive the songs from the back. The mix and everything is totally clear though, and that benefits the texture of the vocals and various layers of distortion very well. It's a nice and clean sound without losing its edge. The CD comes in a nice little matte digipack with one flap that folds out and a built-in sleeve that houses the disc and a black and white booklet. The lyrics seem to subtly deal with foreboding world affairs, and they're really bleak as a result. "We seal our destiny into the darkest corner of the cage, Locked behind the shadows of bars, stronger upon flesh, We see the capture of our breath, Blinded in promises of wisdom we seek, Trails of dust blacken our lungs, In traces of hope we once believed..." This is a great EP. I like it just a bit more than their 7", and it's nice to see that the band is clearly progressing and developing their sound without straying from their initial direction. I definitely think their future work will really start to fucking crush. I'm looking forward to it. Check this band out. (7/10)
Running time - 19:11, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Part II Dawn of the Saddest Day, Part III The Reflection of the Failure]
Thrash and Burn - http://www.thrashandburn.net

This review has been displayed 1867 times.