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Modern Life Is War

Fever Hunting

Written by: PP on 23/09/2013 17:55:29

One of the most celebrated bands in the hardcore underground scene during the early to mid 2000s, Modern Life Is War haven't been able to replicate the kind of mainstream success seen by Defeater and Touché Amoré, both bands that were heavily influenced by their earlier records. That's about to change with "Fever Hunting", their fourth album that reaches back to their critically acclaimed record "Witness", and one which brings their songs to the bigger masses thanks to the perfectionist production by none other than Kurt Ballou.

Basically, "Fever Hunting" takes the ideals of old school Rise Against - think "Siren Song Of The Counter Culture"-era when they were heavier - and mixes them together with the desperation-driven, perfectly decipherable howls of Defeater, La Dispute and Touché Amoré. Not emotional hardcore per se, "Fever Hunting" instead brings political affiliation and social commentary into their lyrical universe, all sung and screamed from an utterly personal perspective that carries all the emotion and passion in the world. Indeed, if there's one word to characterize all of "Fever Hunting" it is passionate. It translates across the heavily repetitive chorus lyrics which often swallow a third of a song into a single line or two that echos across the soundscape for the majority of the song, "Media Cunt" being a prime example with its "I suspect you've been infected / I'm so sorry about you" screams that start about 50 seconds into the song and carry all the way through. On one hand it feels a little over the top sometimes when the songs feel like they consist of maximum a few lines, especially since the main content is rushed through so quickly, but at the same time their vocalist Jeffrey Eaton is able to make the songs really, really catchy in this manner. Angrily catchy, mind you, because this is anger and frustration pouring over into a passionate, piercing howl that is delivered on top of a solid, melodic hardcore foundation.

The tempo varies from high-speed punk onslaught to more introspective hardcore pieces like "Blind Are Bleeding", which uses ambience and atmosphere to build something similar to Verse's rhythmic vocal pulsations. That said, the band are unquestionably at their best at their faster tempo material, where Eaton's howled vocals receive a melodic boost from the solid lead guitar lines and the added speed that forces him to spit out the lines in an even more aggravated fashion than before. It is here that MLIW are at their most anthemic, yet at the same time most aggressive, creating an awesome combination of melody and dark, brooding hardcore. This is a landmark release that should finally give them the recognition they deserve outside of merely those in the know within the hardcore scene.

Download: Health, Wealth & Peace; Media Cunt; Fever Hunting; Cracked Sidewalk Surfer
For the fans of: Defeater, Have Heart, Rise Against, Verse, Ruiner, La Dispute
Listen: Facebook

Release date 03.09.2013
Deathwish Inc