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| Dead To FallVillany And Virtue2004 Victory 
 Review by: pastepunk See others by this writer Dead To Fall (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on October 5th 2004
With the release of Villainy & Virtue, Dead to Fall find themselves in one of those rare circumstances where after replacing 3/5 of their previous line-up, they come out as a much better, more interesting musical unit. The band's 2002 debut, "Everything I Touch Turns to Pieces," was a fine tribute to the Swedish guitar licks of their influences, but largely, it felt amateurish in terms of polish and fitness. Fortunately it seems, Dead to Fall have really worked hard on their craft with these new songs, as Villainy & Virtue catapults through 31 minutes of bone-shattering metalcore. Immediately, it's clear that the European guitar riffing has been cut down drastically on this release in favor of a mix between thick, palm-muted riffs and monstrous chugging breakdowns. Stylistically, this may be nothing exceptional, but Dead to Fall have a knack for breeding intensity within their tightly controlled wall of noise. The drumming of Evan Kaplan is noteworthy on "Villainy..." for the mere fact that Dead to Fall no longer rely on a stubborn backdrop of rolling double-bass. Used more effectively, the songs on here gather a greater degree of momentum with the percussion spreading out the devastation with poise. Vocalist Jonathan Hunt is average at best as a recorded frontman, and noticeably, his lack of engaging qualities prohibits the material on here from sounding truly explosive. Dead to Fall may have "heavy," and "intricate" down pat, but the lack of stronger vocals keeps this band decidedly middle of the pack. Surprisingly, Dead to Fall's best material on here comes from the final four tracks, beginning with the riveting percussion intro to "Blood of the Moon," and closing with the chilly "Epilogue." The ISIS-like eighth track, "Cross Section," sees these guys reach their most adventurous songwriting point yet, and Villainy... benefits nicely from an obvious, but cohesive change in tempo. Rounding out the release is absolutely beautiful artwork by Paul A. Romano, which adds a load of class and professionalism to the overall product. Villainy & Virtue is a huge step up for Dead to Fall, and to be honest, a very surprising one as well. At the same time, these guys find themselves in an extremely crowded genre, and Jonathan Hunt's mundane vocal character brands the band with a decided handicap. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Best track is bastard set of dreams vilany and virtue is the best cd ever. They are changing metal core music. And the dont suck like other metalcore bands. dead to fall is the best band ever. Villany and virtue rocks. the best song is bastard set of dreams. this cd isnt bad but not as good as the frist. they deffenitly have some hard breakdowns tho. Ok, I'm listening to this in my sterio with the volume 1/6, so it's low... I saw these guys about a month ago w/ Haste The Day and picked this album up then. First off, the cover art is absolutely beautiful, the coolest I've seen all year. I've had "Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces" and minus a few songs on it it was mediocre. This album is a huge step up for them. They prefectly marry Swedish metal and hardcore in all of the right places and it comes off as an incredible listen for anyone who is a fan for either genre. i dig the cover art a lot though. :) this cd is crap Thank you. wow, this is simply one of the best reviews i've read on this site. whoever did it so do all the reviews.amazing. Well, it's a definite step ahead from Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces, but I still think this band has better stuff ahead of them. The band shows flashes of being more than another metalcore band when they experiment a little. I'd say it's worth checking out. I need to know what Forty thinks of this album before I can make a judgement call. damn, i was totally gonna review this. I robbed the singer's house. this cd, this band....rock. i like the vocalist, i don't really see why you would call him average. but whatever. different strokes for different folks. The cover art looks like it was done by a 7th grader. And what does "class and professionalism" have to do with metal? This band does nothing for me as far as metal goes |
