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I Killed The Prom Queen

Music For The Recently Deceased

Written by: AP on 26/07/2006 12:46:46

As soon as the anthemic intro of I Killed The Prom Queen’s “Sharks in Your Mouth” begins playing, you know you’re in for something epic, partly substantiated by the superior production of the Australian hardcore quintet’s newest album, “Music for the Recently Deceased”, but mostly by how close to perfection their ear-blistering yet melodically charged blend of hardcore and melodic death-metal comes.

“Sharks in Your Mouth”, as the opening track, serves as an insight into what this album will sound like throughout with its combination of all the aspects of I Killed The Prom Queen’s music. At times brutal and merciless, at times hopeless and desperate, at times melodic and inspiring, the song is a representation of what this type of metal should sound like. The dual-guitar harmonics of “Say Goodbye” then introduce yet another aspect of I Killed The Prom Queen, featuring a mixture of hardcore screaming and clean vocals. The death-metal influences of the band first truly become obvious with “666”; a song with a melody so strange it can only be described, quite accordingly, as evil. As the song progresses, it oscillates between fast, slow, brutal, melodic and spotlights JJ’s percussion skills with numerous drum-solos. “Your Shirt Would Look Better with a Columbian Neck Tie” gets an award for the strangest title of the album, a title more suitable for bands like The Mars Volta or The Fall of Troy. Now, “Sleepless Night and City Lights” deserves a special mention. It could quite possibly become my song of the year, being not only one of the best hardcore songs I’ve ever heard (and yes, I say that even though my love for Hatesphere is true), but also one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. The album finishes with an instrumental piece, “There Will Be No Violins When You Die”, serving as an epitaphic end to an indescribably good album.

“Music For The Recently Deceased” is produced by the legendary Fredrik Nordstrom, who has previously worked with bands like Darkest Hour, At The Gates and In Flames. The production quality that Nordstrom has been able to render adds the final nudge to the grade 10 that this album deserves, but the incredible musical skill with which this album has been composed is enough to nominate it as album of the year.

Download: Sharks in Your Mouth, Sleepless Night and City Lights
For the fans of: As I Lay Dying, Darkest Hour, Scar Symmetry
Listen: Myspace

Release date 31.07.2006
Resist Records