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With The Dead - Self Titled

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    Ian Jane
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  • With The Dead - Self Titled



    With The Dead - S/T
    Released by: Rise Above Records
    Released on: October 16th, 2015.
    Purchase From Amazon

    Made up of Lee Dorrian (of Cathedral and Napalm Death) on vocals, Tim Bagshaw (of Electric Wizard) on guitar and bass and Mark Greening (also of Electric Wizard) on drums, With The Dead release their self titled debut on Dorrian's own Rise Above Records. As you could probably gather from past projects these guys have been involved with, this album brings you heavy doses of the best kind of fuzz and doom.

    The first of the six tracks that make up this album is Crown Of Burning Stars, which starts off with some sort of backwards masking effects before the band kicks in with one of the thickest, doomiest riffs you're likely to hear anytime soon. And we're off! This sets the precedent for pretty much everything to come. Dorrian's vocals come in a minute later and fit the tone that Greening and Bagshaw lay down perfectly - they're grizzled, a little worn, and understandably concerned about something. Seriously, there's an audible stress to the vocals that make you want to listen to the lyrics. Dorrian said in the press release accompanying this "There have been rough times in my personal life and some dour emotions needed to be exorcised. So, yes, With The Dead is the perfect vehicle for these exorcisms to be performed.” You get the impression that he means it.



    The second track, The Cross, is a faster, more aggressive track that moves at a pretty quick tempo and that really lets Greening strut his stuff behind the kit. The drumming here outshines the guitar playing, which isn't easy given how good Bagshaw is at what he does, but there you go. Dorrian belts it out… 'staring…. into…. black skies….' and this takes us to a dark, ominous place both musically and lyrically. Not to be outdone, Bagshaw lays down the kind of stoner rock grooves that suck you in and pull you under.

    The third track is, creatively, titled Track 03 and it takes us headfirst into traditional Sabbath style territory with an Iommi-esque riff laid down bare over which some initially primitive drumming becomes increasingly complex and technical. Again, Dorrian's vocals seem to come from a bad place, channeling something sinister for your listening pleasure. Like the opener it's more of a mid-tempo track but no less heavy for it. Once this is on you, good luck getting out from under it.

    Living With The Dead starts off with a creepy sample and then POW! You're punched in the face with the music and the vocals kicking in all at once with a ferocious howl. This is a pretty evil song, the tone is pitch-black and the vibe is just demonic - as such, it's pretty intense, and pretty awesome. As Dorrian howls 'living with the dead' over and over again for the first minute you get the impression you're listening to a complete lunatic. From there, the rest of the lyrics continue the intensity set down in the opening. Then, about half way through, things get surprisingly calm. They stay dark, but they quiet down, Dorrian stops his wailing and the drums mellow out. It doesn't stay that way though, in fact from there the band starts building and building and building some more taking the song to a finish that is somehow heavier and more ominous than it was when it started.

    I Am Your Virus puts guitars way up front with a killer riff that feels like it's peeling off a layer of skin. Some psychedelic effects work their way into the mix as the drums pound away, a technique that continues as Dorrian's singing begins. This is a very layered track, more complex in its production than the others, and it's trippy. Sort of a mix between Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost and maybe Pentagram - all of which adds up to a pretty killer combination. The repetition of the first half gets mixed up and weird as the second half encroaches. There's a neat, quiet part here where the drumming gets to shine a bit more than it does when the guitars go fuzz heavy, and then to finish it the band just goes for full on sonic crush.

    Last but not least is Screams From My Own Grave, the longest track on the record at just short of nine minutes in length. It's also the most insane track on the record, one that unfolds at a very deliberate pace, content to roll over the listener rather than pummel the listener. At the same time, while Bagshaw and Greening are very much taking their time here, Dorrian isn't resting. The vocals are more tortured here than on any of the other five songs on the record, and this tone stays with us for the duration. The song closes out with some feedback, some noise, a sort of wall of sound that builds and builds and builds to the point where you almost need it to stop - and that's exactly what it does.

    And once it does, you start it all over again. This record is that good, you'll want to listen to it twice. The production from Jaime Gomez Arellano is perfect, never so polished that you get comfortable with it but not so raw that you can't appreciate the skill that the band demonstrates. Anyone into doom would be crazy not to give this a listen. This is a band whose individual members paid their dues before even forming, and that experience is obvious from the opening chord to the closing barrage of noise.

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