DEAD TO FALL „Villany & Virtue”

Chicago’s Dead to Fall pretty much floored me with their 2002 debut ‘Everything I Touch Falls to Pieces’. Certainly it was one of the finest melodic death/metalcore albums of that year. The great thing about DTF was their noteworthy ability to combine classic Northern Euro riffage/leads with death metal blasting and the obligatory Metalcore breakdowns. Their style was nothing overtly innovative but it had a distinctive edge and individual uniqueness that made them stand out in what is an overcrowded scene. Needless to say, I had extremely high expectations for this follow up. Unfortunately, to this hack ears V&V leaves me slightly under-whelmed.

There is no real argument from me that V&V is not a stellar metalcore album. Most of their competition would sell their left nut for something this confronting. It is encumbered with everything that avid DTF fans would expect from this band. The familiar Euro style riffage meets Metalcore breakdowns cooked to maximum via a heavy as fuck production – V&V has the punters quota no question. If you’re after one of the more impassioned metalcore performances of 2004, then V&V will satisfy your cravings even further. However, as much as I dig everything that is going on here, it is flawed and ultimately it doesn’t have the all-encompassing impact that the debut had.

With further investigation, I have been able to put my finger on just where this disc fails. The main problem I have with V&V is its sterile production. I recall the self-produced/Barry Poytner sound of the debut being a major highlight – raw, yet powerful in the entire mix. Surprisingly, V&V is stifled in its sound – Eric Rachael (Hatebreed, How it Ends, A Perfect Murder) has afforded V&V a very thick bottom end which gives the band an added heaviness I suppose, but essentially, I believe it lacks sharpness and energy in the mid range, rendering many of their compositions a tad lifeless in my opinion.

The fact that V&V features Dead to Fall with three new members may also be another reason why this disc isn’t as cohesive as the debut. I’m not sure how much the addition of New guitarists Matt Mattera (formerly of 7 Angels, 7 Plagues), Antoine Jones (who's actually a former member/songwriter) and new drummer Evan Kaplan has affected the song writing process, but I get the feeling that just maybe the ideas didn’t gel quite as well as they may have wanted. I may very well be wrong, but it’s just a reaction I get from listening to this disc.

I am loath to keep pointing out the deficiencies of V&V, but I must admit slight disappointment in the vocals of Jonathon Hunt. Not necessarily in his performance (which is typically brutal – too brutal for the hardcore kids!), but in the mix he has been afforded. Hunt’s usual caustic snarl is there, yet for the most part his efforts are buried under the thick wall of sound that has been captured by producer Eric Rachael. This is another reason for the lack of overall bite and impact that V&V displays.

The one saving grace that V&V has is that it refuses to play commercial hardball. Their music is still entrenched in the dark, melo-death Euro vibe the likes of Heaven Shall Burn and to a lesser extent, Amon Amarth dish out. No clean choruses here folks. It just a damn pity that the stifling production mix just about suffocates every last drop of power and muscle that their compositions – on a better day – are quite obviously able to convey. Still make no mistake; this is a band to watch punters. Their next one will surely rectify any misgiving I (we?) might have about Villainy and Virtue.

www.victoryrecords.com

note: 7.8/10

Tracklist

1. Torn Self
2. Bastard Set of Dreams
3. Stand Your Ground
4. You’ve already Died
5. Villainy & Virtue
6. Little Birds
7. Blood of the Moon
8. Cross Section
9. Master Exploder
10. Epilogue