I know this much about Till We Die: they have a strong fan base. That can be discerned from comments they’ve left on other reviews and on the band’s MySpace web page. That’s a good sign. They must put on a good live show.
They have the ability to be a good hardcore band. I think they need to inject a little more energy into their songs, though. Perhaps they do in concert but on their album, Pressing On, most of the songs are boring. They all start out virtually identically and very slow at that. This makes it hard to remember which track is which. The singer has a great voice for the despondent beginnings, to be sure, and bits and pieces of the songs pick up the pace and sound abrasive. But it’s all still boring.
I think the first two tracks, “Ride” and “Slave” could have been pruned from this CD and that would have made it stronger or if not removed altogether, they should not be the opening tracks. I did like a few songs, “Ups” is a good piece of metal, it sounds angry and the guitar hits like a hammer. “Ting” has some nice screaming, a good soulful chorus and, once more, some powerful guitar. “That Day” is a wonderfully sad song.
The recording sounds flat to me. It's almost reminiscent (almost, mind you) of … And Justice For All in some ways. Now, I don’t mean that Pressing On comes anywhere near the brilliance, lyrically or musically, of Justice. It just seems that the overall sound of the CD isn’t as full and as powerful as it could have been. It feels like there’s something missing.
Till We Die isn’t so boring they aren’t worth paying attention to. Some of their songs have a decent metal sound, a certain lip-curling-in-defiance tone. At least, I think it was defiance that was curling my lip, not disgust. There are no outstanding performances on the CD, but they have some anger and sadness that could eventually produce some great songs. They are a cohesive band. They ‘gel’ as my old band captain used to say.
With a few improvements to the pace of their music, they will be much more interesting and a more powerful band.
Article comments
1 - John McKay
Wow, this is a very poorly-written review.
2 - Reese
I have to agree with John on that. If you're in need of an editor I'm available.
3 - Howard
You seem happy when you write - sort of like a retarded child with no ears, playing in a sandbox. I've never heard this band, and will most likely hate every boring-assed metal riff they play, but because you did such a pathetic job reviewing it - I think I'll pick up a copy. Geez. Stick with the beer.
4 - Kangaroo
Worst review ever. Blogcritics kicks ass. Not. Glad to see you so closely screen your contributors what a horrible piece of crap.
5 - daryl d
Gosh, this makes some of my reviews actually look good.
6 - Otis B. Driftwood
"Gosh, this makes some of my reviews actually look good."
Think again.
7 - Steph
This is the worst review I have ever read. You shouldn't judge a band until you;ve seen them live AND heard their albums.