Ex Lives, by Every Time I Die

There are only so many musicians to successfully mix genres to a point to where it's almost a match made in heaven. For 14 years, NY's very own Every Time I Die has been dominating their signature mix of southern heavy metal and hardcore punk, which has made me a normal customer to their albums, coming back for a heaping taste of what I have come to expect from any output this band puts out.

I'll say with previous albums, I never enjoyed the album all the way through, due to some minor issues, such as mixing a track with too much of one style of music over another. But that itch has finally been scratched with Ex Lives, the sixth LP from this band.

After lead singer Keith Buckley did his stint with the supergroup (but not that 'super' at all) The Damned Things, he returned back to his band to write and record Ex Lives, making this the longest gap between two albums for the band. It goes to show you though, that with time, comes good results. The band entered the studio with the likes of producer Joe Barresi, who tends to turn anything he touches to gold with his studio skills, taking any band or musician he wants, giving them the sound they want, as well as a polish only a man like Barresi can do. The instruments have their own breathing room, even with the heavily distorted guitars pounding and riffing away. The bass is clear with every pick under all the chaos, making this record even more filthier with every ring and note that comes forth. The drums are played in a hectic and raw manner, as every piece of the kit is distinguishable, despite all the intensity  going on, such as the blast beats, which is a first for this band, in the track 'Holy Book of Dilemma'. The vocals are more empowering than ever, as former English teacher Keith Buckley writes some of the best lyrics I've heard, and can only hear on an ETID record. His screams are hair raising, and sings with so much heart and talent, he's one of the many distinguishable vocalists of the metalcore scene, He growls lines from the opener track 'Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space' like:

'I refuse to be the only man put to rest in a mass grave.
You were all there with me.'

and sings downright dirty verses, such as the one found in the track 'Revival Mode':

'I need to pay the judge,
I need to tip the scales,
some sort of bribery,
I'm not going to wait this out.

I need to pay the judge,
I need to tip the scales,
some sort of certainty,
I'm sick of waiting out.'

This is only a few tracks, keep that in mind. The album is chocked full of the most dirtiest yet righteous power riffs and intricate lyrics, and it's hard to separate them all. ETID came back with some solid songwriting, making 1-3 minute bursts of this frankenstein mix only they could have the balls to come up with. This album is barely clocking over 30 minutes, and that's all you need from these guys. They managed to make an album that I can sit through, and want to listen to over and over, without skipping the bad apples.

Bravo guys, bravo.