Curl Up and Die

Curl Up and Die: The One Above All, the End of All That Is.The One Above All, the End of All That Is. (2005)
Revelation Records

Reviewer Rating: 3.5

Contributed by: Sally_FieldMeg
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 27th 2006If Curl Up and Die teach their listener anything with their music, it's that there is/was such a thing as a good, consistent, metalcore band. For over five years Curl Up and Die had been putting out strong, guitar-heavy music, and it all culminated with the 2005 release of The One Above All, the End.

If Curl Up and Die teach their listener anything with their music, it's that there is/was such a thing as a good, consistent, metalcore band. For over five years Curl Up and Die had been putting out strong, guitar-heavy music, and it all culminated with the 2005 release of The One Above All, the End of All That Is. While the vocals have remained unchanged, as well as the ridiculous song titles, which they were doing before it became "kewl" (see: "Blood Mosh Hips Hair Lips Pills Fuck Death"), The One Above All is definitely a reflection of a less aggressive, decelerated Curl Up and Die.

The One Above All opens with a slow-paced, nearly five minute-long track of Botch-influenced noise entitled "An Uncomfortable Routine," followed by the just-shy-of-a-minute, more melodic "Antidepressants Are Depressing." The album returns back to a slower pace in "Black Out," but luckily picks right back up with "There Ain't No Can't in American," one of the album's more noteworthy tracks. The track "Zero MPH Fallover" returns Curl Up and Die to the more hardcore-influenced sound, which quickly fades with the heavier guitar riffs in "There Is Never Enough Time to Do Nothing."

One thing The One Above All is certainly able to do is to showcase CUAD's ability to jump between fast and slow-paced material, signalling that though somewhat of a transformation may have started to progress, it wasn't one that would completely renovate their style immediately. Also noteworthy with this album is the intricate and quite colourful artwork done by EATDRINK Media.

Though The One Above All, the End of All That Is. doesn't quite live up to its predecessors, Curl Up and Die have proven over the years that they know what they're doing. Metalcore surely misses them.

Stream tracks from TOAATEOATI (enough of an abbreviation for you?)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

SilentStorms (February 2, 2006)

oh but the artwork for this cd rocks my face. Simply amazing!!!

withoutadoubt13 (January 29, 2006)

i like how someone discounts a label by providing another one. ugh.

this cd certainly doesn't live up to past cds, but is good in it's own right. their "final show" in ventura was fucking amazing. anything recorded will not be able to match their live show.

mysillyname (January 29, 2006)

oh definitely not metalcore. oh no. no, i'd rather classify it as "sensitive-yet-intense-hard-sounding-ear-pinching-not-as-good-mus icmanship-but-still-okay-core."

uh huh.

classify away, fags.

Anonymous (January 28, 2006)

Yeah, I'm white. And I like some hip hop. But Dead Prez have idiotic lyrics. Certainly nowhere near the same league as MDC.

-Will

Anonymous (January 28, 2006)

MDC is one of the reasons people associate Low-fi with bad music. In a battle of anything, Dead Prez beats DMC.

skankin_in_the_pit (January 28, 2006)

"fuck this band. i used to live in vegas, fuck the shitty scene there.. this band, the killers, panic at the disco, escape the fate?! and not to mention all the shitty local bands"

You have no idea how stupid you sound. Nobody in "the scene" ever liked any of the bands you mentioned. The Killers were completely ignored here and went to Europe before the blew up. Just from your complaints I'd guess that you are under 21, and i'll admit this isn't the best place to be for all ages shows. Clubs get shut down constantly no matter how hard some people here have worked to get some all ages clubs going. But if you're over 21 the Double Down, Cooler lounge, and some other bars are pretty consistent with GOOD local bands. Yes the majority of local bands suck here, but to throw them all in the same boat is just ignorant. Besides nothing beats a good local desert show.

Go listen to MIA, Subterfuge, and Faded Grey and then make those same stupid assumptions.

the_other_scott (January 28, 2006)

Will

I'm a middle class whitey. 95% of the people on this website are middle class white people. Henry Rolllins was a middle class white kid. Jello Biafra was a middle class white kid. Punk rock is (and always has been) almost 100% middle class white kids. I don't know you, but I'm pretty sure you're a middle class white kid.

Millions of Dead Cops weren't that great.

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

Yeah... MDC is just mediocre compared to Dead Prez? Oh, I forgot, you had to pretend to actually enjoy their nonsensical bullship "hip hop" so that people wouldn't notice you're a middle class whitey.

-Will

ClicheMyHeart (January 27, 2006)

comment below......how can you put this band into the same scene as panic at the disco and the killers?

Mute98 (January 27, 2006)

fuck this band. i used to live in vegas, fuck the shitty scene there.. this band, the killers, panic at the disco, escape the fate?! and not to mention all the shitty local bands

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

What a great album cover! I haven't listened to these guys in years, but that artwork makes me want to check this one out

ElVaquero (January 27, 2006)

your list sucks, b.t.w.

the_other_scott (January 27, 2006)

good death/dying/murder bands

murder city devils
murder by death
death by stereo
dead prez

mediocre death/dying/murder bands

millions of dead cops
death cab for cutie

really shitty death/dying/murder bands

curl up and die
everytime i die
as i lay dying

i'm all out, i thought this list would be better

ramo (January 27, 2006)

This was one of the few underappreciated albums of last year. I wasn't even a fan of CUAD until I heard The One Above All.... It's too bad they broken up because they could've reshapen the hardcore scene the way Snapcase did.

Ramo

skankin_in_the_pit (January 27, 2006)

I'm hoping since CUAD never played a final show they might be playing some more regular shows around here. Probably just wishful thinking though. I never thought the albums quite lived up to the live show but everything they released is great.

I can tell you for sure, everyone in Vegas misses this band waaaayyyyy more than metalcore does.

SilentStorms (January 27, 2006)

This was the first album by these guys which has songs i don't really care to listen to. I feel like half the songs are great and the other half sub-par. I still like the eps best.

RondoMondo (January 27, 2006)

This band is my favorite modern hardcore band. This cd was definately a departure from "Unfortunately..." but still awesome in it's own right.

ElVaquero (January 27, 2006)

this getting only a seven is a crime against humanity

FuckYouOiOiOi (January 27, 2006)

them and old in flames are the few metalish bands i like.

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

yea, definitely not metalcore, and while i don't think it's their best work, it's hard to judge the albums since they're all so different from one another. this band got progressively more streamlined as they went along, so it's kinda like a different band. i dunno. i still think unfortunately we're not robots is the best album (or EP) they ever did.

Anonymous (January 27, 2006)

umm... i definitely wouldn't call this "metalcore". hence why you don't realize that this is among their best material.