Integrity "To Die For" CD
[Deathwish]
Well, holy shit... sign me back up, because Integrity may have gradually lost me big time over the years since the Melnicks left the band, despite remaining one of my all time favorites, but now Dwid is back again with another new lineup, this time including original Integrity drummer Chubbie Fresh (Who the hell saw that one coming!?) and former One Life Crew/In Cold Blood axeman Blaze, among others. And I must say, this is by far the best the band has sounded since "Seasons in the Size of Days". I've heard arguments from some angles already claiming that this EP is even better than "Seasons...", but I'll tell you right now that such claims are total horseshit, as this is a fucking awesome record, but it's still not as good as "the Melnick years". But fuck it. That doesn't even matter, because all that matters is that Integrity is finally back in fine form. Dwid's vocals sound vicious and totally pissed off again, the songs are short and in your face, chock full of powerful chord progressions and fiery lead bursts just like the old days, etc. This is the record that should have come after "Seasons in the Size of Days". No Integrity 2000, no "Closure", none of it. Had this come out after "Seasons..." the band never would've lost an inch of momentum. I'm just so glad to hear the band back in action like this. From the acoustic instrumental "Dreams Bleed On", to the whispered vocals at the start of "Heavens Final War" (very reminiscent of some of the work on "Those Who Fear Tomorrow"), to the fast and borderline old school hardcore style of the title track... this one covers all the bases. It's also interesting to note that a few of the riffs on this EP originally appeared in some of the songs off of In Cold Blood's "Suicide King" EP, which was recorded after "Hell on Earth" and never released. The recording is great. The drums are full and warm, the bass tone plays a huge role, the guitars are thick and textured, and the vocals sound 100% perfect in my opinion. As over the top as ever, but perfectly placed in the mix, so as not to dominate, but also not losing any force. There's also a CD-Rom video for "In Contrast of Sin". It's all black and white and consists mostly of cut together live footage from various live shows from the band's earlier years, as well as some spliced in segments of Charles Manson, Francis Bacon paintings, deformed bodies, and other such obscurities. Not bad. The layout's fucking great. This is some of Bannon's best work in awhile. There's no text on the front cover, and the first thing inside the booklet is a large spread of additional artwork. The tracklist is out of order ("Dreams Bleed On" and "Blessed Majesty" are listed in reverse order), but you can figure it out by flipping through the booklet. There are also a few photos, and yes, the lyrics to an Integrity record have finally been printed again - so no guessing! The content of the songs is a bit more straightforward and simplistic than "Humanity is the Devil", for example, but cryptic references to personal turmoil and spiritual warfare still exist: "Lost in heavens final war, Bleed beneath your dreams, A sea of flesh never blessed, Destroyed evermore..." There are also some pretty shocking "hardcore" lyrics that are a throwback to the "In Contrast of Sin" 7", such as "Everything went away, even I turned my back! Back to the glory, The way it was, The way it should be..." and "Bringing back all the hate, We remember from '88, Jordans, construction gloves, violent dancing, In a scene we were proud of..." Definitely unexpected. I'm all over this shit. I never thought I'd see the day that this would happen, but Integrity's fucking back. Fuck the last five or so years of confused and generally unfocused wanderings. This is the real deal. I can't fucking wait to hear what comes next. Fuck yeah. (8/10)
Running time - 22:42, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Blessed Majesty, Heavens Final War, Hated of the World, Burn it Down]
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