Undead Review: The Deadly

The Deadly
The Wolves Are Here Again
Pluto Records, 2005
http://www.plutorecords.com/

There’s enough bad metalcore these days to send the staunchest scene stalwart screaming towards Emoville. And with labels flourishing from the influx of “new jack” capital, it seems like new, hot bands are coming out every week. How’s a hardcore kid supposed to stay on top?

Maybe, to some extent, we’re not. The over-saturation of heavy music right now might not be a bad thing—because as much as it reeks of being the new fad, it also places that much more responsibility on the bands to turn listeners’ heads.

The Deadly turned my head. There’s an instant similarity to the Blood Brothers: both bands place screamy vocals and plucky bass riffs in the forefront of their sound. But where the latter are raucous and spastic to a degree that alienates most listeners who, uh, don’t have rabies, The Deadly have enough heft and chunk to their riffs for the sane to glom onto. What’s more, they’re fucking catchy. Right from the opening riff of the CD, it’s clear that bouncy, catchy rhythms á la Coheed and Cambria dominate The Wolves Are Here Again.

The lyrics may be a bit hashed-over by this point. I mean, is the sexual sarcasm of “Make Me Rich”—“so you want to make out again well we’re stealing every heart we can”—really going to send any ex-lovers to the emergency room? But then, who really listens to hardcore for the lyrics anyway? The nitpicky downsides are a disappointing read-along and a lyric booklet full of typos; but these are balanced out by the unconventional, beautifully executed design work. Every hardcore band, including your mom’s, seems to have a logo with blood drips and splatter marks. The Deadly opt for disturbingly clean design, and photographs of high-rises and chandeliers that reek of too much order. Sometimes spitting in the face of the trend can be good for one’s dignity.