A Lifeless Alliance

A Lifeless Alliance: The CreepshowThe Creepshow (2006)
Faction Zero

Reviewer Rating: 3

Contributed by: AnchorsAnchors
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 16th 2007I didn't really ask much for the recently passed Christmas. I feel like I'm at a point in my life where I have enough already, and would rather have my parents spend money on themselves. Regardless, they made me ask for at least a couple things. And I did. And I got them. And I'm happy. But that got.

I didn't really ask much for the recently passed Christmas. I feel like I'm at a point in my life where I have enough already, and would rather have my parents spend money on themselves. Regardless, they made me ask for at least a couple things. And I did. And I got them. And I'm happy. But that got me to thinking about some of the more intangible things I should be thankful for having. One of those is my job here at Punknews, which affords me the opportunity to hear of so many small and deserving bands I'd never otherwise catch wind of.

Bands like A Lifeless Alliance. Bands that fit right into the mold of bigger acts like Crime in Stereo, No Trigger, and Strike Anywhere. They're not quite as talented, and certainly not yet as refined as any of those, but the enthusiasm a band like this brims with is something special, and something I hope is able to carry them far into a career in this scene.

That said, while enthusiasm is their main selling point, they do bring a fair amount of other favorable elements to their music. The guitars are constantly buzzing. Every solitary minute of the 20 found on this EP is full of hard-hitting riffs and undeniably catchy rhythms. While only a three-piece, the combination of guitar and bass fuels every song with such vigor that it's near impossible to be swept right up into it. No, they're not going to wow you with speed or technicality, but they do know their strengths, and as far as I'm concerned that's a hell of a lot more valuable than being able to play two hundred miles an hour.

Equally important are the vocals on the record. This is the element that would draw the strongest comparison to a band like No Trigger, as everything from the sound to the shout-alongs is mirrored on a record like Canyoneer. That does not take away from A Lifeless Alliance, however, only served to establish a basis of comparison. And one listen to "Salute You" will validate those comparisons and then some, as behind every rise and peak of the chord progressions, there's a well timed "woah-oh" or escalation in vocal intensity, perfectly representing in one song just what this young band is all about.

I see great things for this band down the line if they just keep up at what they're doing. They have the energy, and the polish will come, it's just a question of whether or not they and those listening will have the patience to let all the pieces fall into place.

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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.

Anonymous (January 18, 2007)

hey guys... this is jeremy from a lifeless alliance.. thanks for the review anchors, and some of the rest of you for the kind words. anyway... we are a 3 piece at this point... christian is not on any of the new material we are working on. we have 5 new songs that we are sitting on right now, and have some others in the works.. the band is NOT officially broken up. some of us are fucked financially by the real world (which is sad), but impossible to escape nevertheless. we still consider EVERY show offer, and will play again. while some of us can not tour at this point, the rest of us are involved in other projects. expect to see more of us in the future, and remember, if you do care about our band, it is partly up to you to come to shows, support, and make things happen. we play punk rock because we love it... that's all.

drop us a line on myspace

www.myspace.com/alifelessalliance

Icapped2pac (January 17, 2007)

Hey Anchors, I hope you're as entertained by the hate for you and your reviews as I am. I appreciate your work and think you do a fine job, even if I don't always agree with your tastes. I don't understand how people get so worked up about these reviews anyway, especially considering the fact that reviews hold far less weight now than they ever have. The reason I say that is because pretty much every band in the US and beyond has sound clips up on the web somewhere that anybody who reads a given review can go check out for themselves. Yes, even Fecal Corpse.

And while I'm filibustering, I want to say again how glad I am that this site covers bands and albums that shouldn't be considered "punk". I have a feeling that VERY few of the people who frequent this site only listen to straight-up punk (is there such a thing) music, and for those of us who don't, it's a great way to branch out and explore new genres and sub-genres. If not for this site, I would probably still be ignorant to Explosions In The Sky, a band that is by no means "punk" but is still fucking great and appeals to punks and non-punks alike.

I also may have never heard No Trigger, which would have been a severe tragedy. Based on the comparison, I will most definitely have to check these guys out.

Anonymous (January 17, 2007)

I'm pretty sure they broke up Jeremy is in a band called The Chance Fate now. This album is pretty sick though.

feeeding5000 (January 16, 2007)

They fit into the mold of bands that I could care less about! (BTW, How is Strike Anywhere a hardcore band?)

Anonymous (January 16, 2007)

I thought this reviewer only did pop and rap reviews?

mclz (January 16, 2007)

i was friends with jemery..but havent talked to him in like a year. they were supposed to do a split with bigwig....but that never happened cause bigwig didn't even have enought songs for reclamation yet.

Anonymous (January 16, 2007)

i just posted, but some website says they're a 4 piece
Members: Jeremy: guitar and vocals. Leo : bass and backups. Christian : guitar and backups. Roberto: drums.

Anonymous (January 16, 2007)

ya they're a pretty good band, some of the songs fell short, but some of them were quite strong.
when are they going to release a real albums?

Ollywood (January 16, 2007)

first