Every Time I Die

Radical

Written by: PP on 08/12/2021 20:57:23

Keith Buckley, ladies, and gentlemen. He's at the very essence of what might be Every Time I Die's magnum opus, which begs a question to be asked: does this man have any throat left after this release? Few other records - including those by the legendary The Chariot and Norma Jean - have delivered equivalent levels of raw destruction and relentless chaos to the extent on display here. It's an all-out brawl of abrasively ferocious pummeling channeled through intensely technical, yet surprisingly groovy guitar work, and better yet, beautifully contrasted through haunting clean vocal passages. Had Queen written a southern fried hardcore album, "Radical" would likely be it. More on that later.

Album opener "Dark Distance" immediately makes its presence known through a bombastic display of pure devastation. You've probably heard the words immediacy and urgency mentioned in musical context before; if there was a singular sonic expression to underscore their meaning, this would be it. This type of track represents about 50% of "Radical", a brutal and uncompromising display of fiery, aggressive hardcore at its very best.

In direct contrast to the tear-jerking hardcore cuts are songs like "Sly" and "Post-Boredom". The former brings in Queen-like anthemic choral segments to their expression, which the band has admittedly utilized in the past as well, but never as effectively as here. Similarly, the latter leans more on a rock'n'roll esque rowdy soundscape, before a dramatic, clean vocal chorus offers soothing melody that's almost instantly afterward cut by coarse screaming and technical fretwork, before finishing off with back-chilling melodies and buzzing guitars in what might just be the best Every Time I Die song to date.

In other words, "Radical" has a piece on offer for just about everyone. From the nonstop chaos and barrels upon barrels of shotgun fired blasts of ferocity on "A Colossal Wreck" (arguably the best The Chariot song not written by The Chariot) through poppy, melodic material like "People Verses" where the band sounds like the Queen of hardcore, it's an exceptionally versatile and varied record, one that combines cheesegrater style brutality like "Planet Shit" to atmospheric, progressive material driven by theatrical clean vocals like those on "Things With Feathers".

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes it an album of the year candidate. It's simply a perfect combination of abrasive chaotic hardcore, metalcore, breakdowns, pop choruses and creative songwriting unparelleled by other bands in the genre. It's a new benchmark that other releases will be compared against - think of it as an equivalent to e.g. Converge's "No Heroes" or Norma Jeans' "Redeemer". In fact, let's just call it like it is: "Radical" is effectively an early claim to the best chaotic hardcore album of the decade.

10

Download: Post Boredom, Dark Distance, Planet Shit, A Colossal Wreck, People Verses
For the fans of: Converge, Norma Jean, The Chariot
Listen: Facebook

Release date 22.10.2021
Epitaph

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