Dead to Fall "Are You Serious?"

Okay, so here's an oversimplified synopsis of Dead to Fall's career up until early 2008: The band formed in 1999 and went on to release three strictly metalcore full lengths for Victory Records, the first of which was overwrought with some of the cheesiest, clichéd metal lyricism you'll hear. The following two albums were somewhat better and not as over the top, but they were still forgettable, "metal-with-breakdowns" efforts.

On their fourth record, Are You Serious?, the band turns 180 degrees (without leaving the metal stomping grounds), abandoning their serious, try-so-hard-it's-embarrassing approach to metalcore in favor of a sense of humor and churning Meshuggah and A Life Once Lost influences.

After a minute-long, slightly creepy electronic introduction, "Stupid?" puts an end to the old Dead to Fall by being and ripping on the old Dead to Fall. As the band traces their steps through fast, At the Gates-inspired melodic death metal, blast beats and mosh-happy breakdowns, front man Jon Hunt sneeringly narrates the progression with lines like, "Oh shit, it's the death metal riff" and "I've got a really original idea of how I think we should end this song – end this song with a fucking breakdown!" From there, the band slides into churning, mid-paced metal, rife with absurdly chunky, atonal guitar riffs, 50s sci-fi electronics, angular guitar leads and fairly complex rhythms. While that sound characterizes "The Future," "Cropgrower" and "Doombox," the band experiments with breezy, melodic atmospheres, particularly in "Loch Ness," and even gruff vocal melodies in "Brainmelter." They sound comfortable in their heavier, more experimental shoes, as they focus on writing forceful riffs and interesting textures instead of the pursuit of being an "authentic" Euro-metal band.

For all the changes in attitude and music, there's a part of me that thinks Dead to Fall should have just started fresh with a new name and skipped the song that mocks their previous three albums and metalcore as a whole. It's funny, but it's still another boring, throwaway metalcore song. If they're so over that style of music, why not put to bed a name that's so connected to it? In any case, this is a decent listen –- and better than expected.

Dead to Fall - The Future

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