Necrotica After an experience as explosive as Hot Damn!, I suppose it was inevitable that Every Time I Die would start expanding their sound a bit with the followup album. While retaining much of the same musical DNA found in the band’s previous records, Gutter Phenomenon sees them treading upon more melodic and anthemic territory. Elements of southern rock and classic rock have now started making their way into the group’s signature sound, as Keith Buckley’s clean and screamed vocals are delivered more equally than ever. For many metalcore outfits, this would usually be regarded as a sellout move; however, the way Gutter Phenomenon juggles its contrasts makes for a compelling and even fascinating record.

Prior to the recording of the album, the members of Every Time I Die looked back at their previous releases and started contemplating ways that they could branch out their sound for the next project. In the end, it seemed like the best way to move forward was to look backwards; that is to say that they began wondering if classic rock had any possible place in hardcore or metalcore. However, if the brutality of opener “Apocalypse Now and Then” is any indication, it’s pretty clear that they weren’t going to fully abandon their roots; instead Gutter Phenomenon is the result of merging disparate styles together while still being surprisingly consistent and cohesive. In any case, the variety found on the record is highly welcome. On top of the melodic clean singing that adds a new dimension to Buckley’s voice, the instrumental passages are given much more diversity in both arrangement and performance. Guitarists Andy Williams and Jordan Buckley have greatly expanded their roles here, such as on the catchy-yet-unsettling leads on “The New Black” or the manic tremolo picking on “L’astronaut”. Of course, they don’t completely digress from what made them such staples in the metalcore world to begin with; there are still plenty of heavy-as-fuck breakdowns and angular riffs that make their way onto the album as usual. But it’s nice hearing the duo fusing other sounds into their preexisting style. Add the stellar drumming from Mike Novak on top of all this, and the lineup is in fantastic form on Gutter Phenomenon.

One of the most impressive traits of Every Time I Die is that they always managed to evolve their sound step-by-step without ever abandoning their roots along the way. Any stylistic shift that seemed poised to alienate listeners was always met with thick slabs of metalcore bliss to assure their fanbase that they hadn’t lost the plot. It’s difficult to walk that artistic tightrope, but Every Time I Die pull it off near-effortlessly; “Kill the Music” (featuring Gerard Way!) and “Pretty Dirty” may have their share of melody and accessibility in their clean-sung moments, but such moments are still accompanied by the same off-kilter riffs and intense screams that we’ve come to expect by the band. In other words, Gutter Phenomenon is an excellent synthesis of the expected and the unexpected. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Hot Damn! - largely due to lacking the same pure, visceral thrill of that record - it still manages to be another solid entry in the band’s discography. Don’t let the clean vocals and accessible moments deter or fool you: this is still an Every Time I Die album in every sense of the word, and it’s a damn good one.

Necrotica ”Tonight, I’m coming home in a coma if it fucking kills me!”

With that line, Every Time I Die shot for the stars and never looked back. If Last Night in Town was a solid debut that showed a promising band in their infancy, Hot Damn! took the same formula and nearly perfected it. Over a lean runtime of only 27 minutes, the record runs the gamut from explosive hardcore punk outbursts to slow-burning riffs of warped majesty. “Romeo a Go-Go” immediately sets the scene, using the opening line above to launch into punishing riff after punishing riff; the intricate mathcore passages of the previous outing have now been replaced with an adrenaline shot of pure metalcore, an excellent move if these results are any indication.

What Hot Damn! really manages to nail is its identity; it’s clear that Every Time I Die knew exactly what kind of record they were setting out to make this time around, and it leads to a record that’s consistent and focused from beginning to end. Even the more experimental moments, such as the melancholic instrumental “In the Event That Everything Should Go Terribly Wrong” or the math-y guitar stabs of “Pornogratherapy” don’t feel out of place; if anything, they’re simply alternate methods of communicating both the brutality and bleakness of the album. Still, such moments are outliers. For the most part, Hot Damn! is pure, uncut insanity; if you were put off by “Romeo a Go-Go”, then you won’t find much solace in the relentless screaming and heavy breakdowns of its followup “Off Broadway”, nor will you find comfort in the manic drumming and sudden tempo shifts of “She’s My Rushmore”. Once in a while, singer Kevin Buckley will use clean vocals to vary up his style; however, they’re incredibly pained and out-of-tune. A perfect example comes in the form of “Ebolarama” which merges Buckley’s cleans with extremely dissonant and chunky guitar passages. The result is wonderfully off-putting and unsettling, as you know he could snap at any minute and revert back to his screamed vocals (which, of course, he does).

Of course, the other members are no slouches either. The only change in personnel from Last Night in Town is the addition of new bassist Stephen Micciche, and the returning members have all upped their game here. As I stated before, Hot Damn! is definitely not as mathcore-based as its predecessor; however, that doesn’t mean the playing is any less impressive. The guitar duo of Jordan Buckley and Andrew Williams continues to impress, as their interplay makes even the most chaotic moments seem controlled and collected. This is especially true of the fastest and most unceasing cuts on the record; every time the music threatens to go off the rails - as it so often does with this genre - Buckley and Williams manage to reel it back in at just the right times. The same goes for our new bassist, who gets plenty of time to shine; I’d like to highlight “She’s My Rushmore” in particular, which features a nice solo spot in the middle so Micciche can show off his chops. And of course Michael Novak doesn’t disappoint on the drums, as the intensity of his playing has been elevated from Last Night in Town - no small feat. But that really goes to explain Hot Damn! in general: faster, more intense and more focused. This record really isn’t for the faint of heart, but that’s what makes it so exciting and effective. It’s 27 minutes of chaos and brutality, occasionally tempered but never any less potent as it goes on. Last Night in Town was a damn good start for Every Time I Die, and with Hot Damn!, they brought their A-game.

Necrotica Chapter I: Bursting at the Seams

If there’s anything I can say about Every Time I Die’s debut right off the bat, it’s this: the band doesn’t make you wait. Last Night in Town immediately unleashes a flurry of piss and vinegar with the chaotic “Emergency Broadcast Syndrome”, a song that serves as a perfect thesis statement for the record to follow. Explosive screamed vocals from frontman Keith Buckley are met with instrumental work that’s equal parts brutal and technical, with the result sounding pretty similar to The Dillinger Escape Plan’s landmark release Calculating Infinity at times. Essentially, what you get here is a fusion of the confessional and cathartic lyrics of screamo with the calculated and complex rhythms of mathcore; excellent stuff.

For the most part, these elements extend to the rest of Last Night in Town. I certainly have to commend the musicians for displaying a high level of skill throughout the record while maintaining such energy at the same time. There’s some pretty intricate stuff going on here, whether it’s the dissonant guitar stabs that pervade the majority of “Jimmy Tango’s Method” or the ADD-riddled grooves and chugs of “Punch-Drunk Punk Rock Romance”. Jordan Buckley and Andrew Williams have excellent chemistry with their guitar parts, sounding interlocked and deliberate even in the most unhinged moments of the album. Keith Buckley, meanwhile, shreds his vocal chords relentlessly throughout the whole thing; there’s not a ton of variety in his vocal work here, but he still compliments the intensity of the music nicely. However, my favorite moment on the album vocally is the middle section of “Here’s Lookin’ at You”. Buckley drops the screams and goes for downtrodden clean vocals, giving the song a much more somber and even foreboding atmosphere.

Speaking of variation, we also get a few interludes and atmospheric moments here and there to let the listener breathe. Not that these moments are full-on respites, as they maintain the same dark and unsettling atmosphere; “Enter Without Knocking and Notify the Police” is a dissonant instrumental that conveys a sense of dread with just a few chord progressions (and an off-kilter rhythm), while the outro of “Nothing Dreadful Ever Happens” is a melancholic piano piece that lets one reflect on the craziness that just ensued throughout the rest of the song. Unfortunately, there’s still not enough variation on the record. After a while, much of Last Night in Town becomes a blur of math-y time signatures and heavy grooves, with not a whole lot tying it all together. More moments like “Enter Without Knocking…” should have been placed within the heavier tracks to give them more diversity. But with how the songs are now, the entire album is cranked up to 11 and doesn’t let up nearly enough to let you take in your surroundings.

Still, I think I know what Every Time I Die were going for with their debut. A lot of metalcore bands tend to go as hard as possible on their first records before expanding stylistically down the line, and I get the sense that this is the case with Last Night in Town. It’s the sound of a band trying to prove themselves with an embryonic-yet-impressive first showing, and as a first attempt, they succeeded in a hell of a lot of places. The musicianship is fantastic, the energy is electric, and the atmosphere is often chilling. Last Night in Town may be flawed, but it’s one hell of a start for these guys.