Whether it was a rut or a groove, Every Time I Die were getting pretty comfortable in it. Since 2007’s ‘The Big Dirty’ the Buffalo, NY quintet have routinely unleashed fairly homophonous southern-rock-meets-metalcore pummellings. ‘Ex-Lives’, ‘New Junk Aesthetic’ and their aforementioned predecessor all followed this blueprint so rigidly that every bluesy lick, every dirty breakdown, every humorous one-liner could be anticipated well in advance. Fortunately ETID are adept enough working within this framework to get by. Still, one couldn’t help tasting the beer growing stale, or feel the party winding down.
‘From Parts Unknown’ doesn’t see ETID tread any new ground, yet it still feels fresh. How? By fusing their more recent southern-metalcore outbursts with the carpet-bomb aggressiveness of their first two albums. Consequently, ‘From Parts Unknown’ is Every Time I Die’s most intense album in years. Pulverising metalcore spasms sit side-by-side with head-banging blues-rock grooves, but overwhelmingly, the key to the album is the frenetic ferocity relatively muted on recent releases. Recruiting Converge’s Kurt Ballou for production pays dividends as Ballou helps imbue the album with the primal energy his band are renowned for.
‘All Structures are Unstable’ and album opener ‘The Great Secret’ lead the charge. On the former, their dexterous navigation of hairpin turns through tangled mathcore and barnstorming, Crowbar-esque riffs is thrilling. The latter, meanwhile, begins with ominous guitar chords suggestive of dark clouds forming – only when they break they don’t merely open, they explode. Elsewhere, ‘Pelican of the Desert’ refuses to be anchored to one rhythm for too long. It should sound convoluted and jarring; instead it is fluid and exciting. Over all this carnage frontman Keith Buckley delivers all manner of bold, bloody-minded statements. “Blow your fucking brains out”. “The stoic are first to be covered in shit… life goes on”. Buckley’s lyrics are typified by a new-found fury, and are well-timed to cut through the bombardment.
Unfortunately however, this is not always possible. At times the album becomes frustratingly cluttered. The emphasis on Dillinger Escape Plan-esque linear rhythms and the lack of variation in Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams’ riffing means tracks are frequently too claustrophobically crowded for their own good. Still, the album’s viciousness tends to make up for this.
Nevertheless, tracks like ‘Moor’ are a godsend. A disquieting piano line offers Keith Buckley an eerie platform for his haunting croon before the track tilts into a glacially-paced, chugging metalcore assault. Its middling position in the tracklisting offers a brief respite and breaks up the album. It is also the most prominent example of what ETID can achieve when their tracks are afforded breathing room. Lead single ‘Decayin’ with the Boys’, though more straightforward than other tracks, is more rousing and fully-fleshed as it allows its riffs greater room to develop. Meanwhile, when The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon lends his voice to ‘Old Light’s chorus, and ETID peel back the layers, complementing his more melodic croon, the contrast is superb.
Whether Every Time I Die is meting out storming southern-rock thrashings, beer-chugging party anthems, or spastic metalcore bombardments, ‘From Parts Unknown’ is a thoroughly enjoyable album. The various formulae for these approaches may be easily calculated, but there is still one key ingredient unaccounted for. Every Time I Die have always had a swagger about them, and that is no less true here. ‘From Parts Unknown’ sees a seasoned band confident enough in every facet of their sound to merge it all together. ‘From Parts Unknown’, then, is perhaps the most fully-realised presentation of what Every Time I Die are capable of.
RICHARD CRAIG