ALBUM REVIEW: Bring Out Your Dead – Bring Out Your Dead
Self-proclaimed genre-benders, it’s impossible to put a label on BRING OUT YOUR DEAD. Originating from Madrid, they’re seeing summer in with a debut release, featuring seven tracks that blend the genres and experiment freely with the bounds of what metal is.
Macedonia kicks things off with power and passion. A smooth vocal melody which dances up and down flowing with harmonies works well here. The track slows down steadily into gentle guitar picking, a tone that is reminiscent of the icy feel of bands such as AGALLOCH. It doesn’t stay down for too long, however, and BRING OUT YOUR DEAD smash back into action with some more complex, heavy guitar riffs until the end of the song.
A slow ominous start builds up In The Blink Of A Snake’s Eyes into what becomes a heavy, catchy riff. The different vocalists complement each other very well, adding interest with different textures and emotion. The band have a very modern feel, with chugging guitars, complex drum sections and melodies that alternate and stop abruptly. Again, it slows down into a gentle soft picked section with the bass layered underneath, supporting it well. The same power kicks back in to end the song on a high.
Mad Girl’s Love Song was a surprise, being ambient noise for the entire track, with a touch of guitar gentle dappled into it. It’s purely spoken word, gentle murmurs and whispering of forgotten tales. 90 continues with the same ambient noise melting into it’s intro, only to then smash straight back in with that heavy, pounding sound from earlier tracks. Again, the melodies flow up and down, with the changing tempos giving the illusion of breaks. Each track seems to almost have multiple songs in it, and 90 finishes with guitar sections tailing off into delicate noise once more.
Кот Бегемот follows on with that same noise, flowing one track to another. The vocals take another direction in this track; the harmonies are still there but this time with more aggression and power. The attitude is there, giving this song another level of passion and emotion. The track fades into noise, then comes back in once again and the vocals come back even more intensely. Growls and power-metal esque soaring screams are added in here, providing depth and interest.
Another track entirely of ambient noise follows, Outrun, and then we’re hit with the final track. This debut isn’t exactly short, with all songs over four minutes, but BRING OUT YOUR DEAD finish on a beast of a track that is over 12 minutes long, Rain Over Fire. It’s the same rough vocals and choppy guitar work, which continually softens into more melodic sections. A long instrumental section fades into gentle keys and the last four minutes of the song are filled only with static-fuzz.
This record is entirely free in what it is. It’s not trying to subscribe to any kind of genre and doesn’t proclaim to be anything at all. The musicianship is bang on, these guys are talented and know how to create a great sound for sure. The recording and mix from Carlos Santos at Sadman Studios in Sweden followed by Jens Bogren of Fascination Street Studios (also Sweden) mastering is unequivocally crystal clear, every note rings out true. However, the total lack of genre and continuity between the tracks lacks a cohesiveness. This kind of debut would no doubt have been incredibly fun to write and experiment on as a musician, but to an average listener, every song is so different (and has multiple sections within it) so that there’s nothing we can really associate with BRING OUT YOUR DEAD to want to come back to. The sound is great, but it seems like something the band did for themselves rather a listener.
Rating: 7/10
Bring Out Your Dead is set for release on June 26th via Art Gates Records.
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