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Between the Wars

Death and the Sea (2007)
Think Fast! Records

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Brian
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on August 7th 2007

Fans of the unique, metallic hardcore punk to be found on Between the Wars' Less We Believe EP shouldn't be terribly disappointed with their first full-length, Death and the Sea, but hopefully they'll be wary of the changes. Initial listens seem to reveal little difference between the two, but there are plenty of improvements and progressions heard upon repeat spins that help to mark Death and the Sea as a definite improvement on its predecessor.

Between the Wars still feature the angry, high-pitched, raspy yell of Ensign's Tim Shaw and the intricate, metal-influenced riffs from Bill Henderson, an early guitarist for Thursday. Combined, the two help put forth a sound that's, at times, sort of like the middle ground between Rise Against and Snapcase, if there was one to be found. The band throw in a boatload of tempo changes, as well as complex leads that help Death and the Sea sound more like an early `90s release than standard youth-crew revival. "Death" even closes with dueling, straight-up metal riffs that avoid sounding out of place due to the already metallic tint set in place throughout the album's course.

While Death and the Sea is very solid front to back, a lot of the standouts come right in its midsection. The militantly anti-authoritarian "For Nothing" tears off some serious soloing in its early goings before Shaw chimes in with a wild, punctual vocal flow along with pumping riffs. "No Obligation," about the misgivings and forgiving of children's thoughts, crushes the listener with a pretty pulverizing breakdown, while the band pick it up quickly with an active, energetic tempo in much of the next track, "Beneath the Dead Sky." Stop-start instrumentation makes for a dynamic, attention-grabbing piece in "The Last Drop." But there's also great moments later on, like the groove-oriented "Clenched Fist" and the bold "Cold War" with some of the most insane riffing you'll hear all album.

Death and the Sea strikes a perfect balance -- much of it should please fans of either alum (at least, Ensign fans and fans of Thursday during Henderson's stint that is), but it certainly sounds different enough to understand why its members stepped out of their respective outfits (Henderson also plays in the Procedure and X One Way X) to create this. As a project consisting of some rather busy lads, Between the Wars may not even live out to see the reality of its own namesake, but they've certainly marked their territory with Death and the Sea.

STREAM
For Nothing
The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing

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thomas7155 (September 10, 2007)

me too!

jimmyjjackamoose (August 20, 2007)

WHOA!! Rise Against and Snapcase!! i'm checking this shit out!!!

Anonymous (August 11, 2007)

once you get used to the vocals this pretty much rules.

damnitsderek (August 10, 2007)

Oh, and I do have a semi-legit-ish reason for posting so frequently on this site. I have no friends that listen to punk rock. All of them are either into classic rock, Pitchfork-y pretentious stuff, or mainstream "alt-rock".

Same here. I like The Lawrence Arms, my friends like Meg & Dia. I like The Gaslight Anthem, my friends like The Zutons. It's nice to have a forum on the internet to discuss, or argue, with other people about the same genre of music, even if it is just on a computer.

Anonymous (August 10, 2007)

Tim Shaw surfs

I think that's cool.

I am moving soon.

I'll be sure to snake a wave from him in Jersey!

Hahaha

Anonymous (August 9, 2007)

I doubt these "shitty metalheads" snatched the title from billy bragg. Feeeding, i wish you weren't so aggro about everything. I agree with a lot of what you say, but calling them shitty metalheads isn't very christian of you.

feeeding5000 (August 9, 2007)

I struggle to understand the last comment. If I'm getting it right, the poster is trying to discern whether my name is a reference to the Crass album, "The Feeding of the 5000", or to, like, Jesus feeding people on the loaves and fish. I assure you, it is a Crass reference. Even had I not rejected all organized religion and belief in god, I would not be a christian.

Anonymous (August 9, 2007)

feeeding5000? are you a bible thumping fundaMENTAList or are you a crusty?

feeeding5000 (August 9, 2007)

Actually, that last anonymous comment ("feeeding is a douche") was me.

Anonymous (August 9, 2007)

feeeding is a douche! good stuff...vocals took some getting use to, but after a few spins, i can dig it. 8/10

GlassPipeMurder (August 8, 2007)

haven't heard this yet but here's what i like to do to my friends: yell "think fast!" and then throw a stapler at them knowing they won't have a fast enough reaction time to catch it/bat it away. it's a riot every time.

Anonymous (August 8, 2007)

all of you shut the fuck up right now.

Anonymous (August 7, 2007)

Billy Bragg sucked!!!

feeeding5000 (August 7, 2007)

I love you too, Chinatown.

Anonymous (August 7, 2007)

sorry feediing, I won't insult you ever again.

-chinatown

feeeding5000 (August 7, 2007)

Oh, and I do have a semi-legit-ish reason for posting so frequently on this site. I have no friends that listen to punk rock. All of them are either into classic rock, Pitchfork-y pretentious stuff, or mainstream "alt-rock". A few don't even listen to music at all. If I post here, yes, I can express my opinions to some people who might actually understand what I'm talking about. The fact that you both read and quoted my profile, not to mention took the time to write out more than, "you're a fucking fag", shows me that you obviously have some idea of what you're talking about. My job has been accomplished, then.

feeeding5000 (August 7, 2007)

Dude, anonymous - fuck you. Seriously. I'm allowed to have my own opinions, and I think this band sucks. Either have the decency to let everyone know that you're in the fucking band, or register a username. And btw, that wasn't me posting anonymously - if I'm ever not signed in, I always spell my login correctly - lowercase "f", three "e's".

Anonymous (August 7, 2007)

And Feeding, one more thing. Replying to your own message anonymously (1 minute after you make it) and agreeing with yourself (in a lame attempt to boost your self esteem and make you appear to be some sort of "message board guru") says a lot about how meaningless your life is.

Anonymous (August 7, 2007)

feeding5000 - go fuck yourself. no one cares how "old school" you are. who cares if they got their name from a billy bragg song. do bands who borrow song names for their band name (which is about 95% of them these days i'd guess) need your official approval before doing this? who fucking cares. there are way too many bands at this point to realistically come up with something completely original. why not rag on mainstream/pop garbage who borrow song names from old punk/hardcore bands (which would still pretty much be a waste of time) instead of bands who obviously have members/influences from that era? you are a clown...look at your profile "I'm mostly into anarcho-punk/crust and straight edge hardcore of the late-'80's variety". you go on to say "If you ever get into an argument with me about politics or religion in punk, feel free to IM me"....you are sooo sophistiacated! i really can't wait to get into an argument with you about the politics in punk through instant messenger! oh wait, i am not a complete waste of life, and won't be doing that. seriously, get over yourself dude. part of me thinks you are an older punker, who won't give up on "punk is dead!!" and shits on everything new, but the fact that you still frequent the message boards and need to get your pointless 2 cents in leads me to believe you are actually just some bored college kid, who probably doesn't take showers and thinks he is taking part in some sort of revolution by buying "anarcho/crust punk" records. and if you claim to like hardcore, a lot of hardcore bands (suicidal, even black flag) had some metal influence...if you listen to between the wars, they have a lot of metal influences, but calling them "metalheads" is borderline ridiculous...i don't know the guys, but i am willing to bet they aren't metalheads, since it's clearly a hardcore band...the reviewer makes mention of snapcase for christ sake. just sayin.

LeightonESmith (August 7, 2007)

I've only given this a couple of spins but I'll give it some more time to sink in.
Good review.

On another point........ CAN ENSIGN PLEASE RELEASE ANOTHER FUCKING ALBUM ALREADY??? I'VE ONLY BEEN WAITING SINCE 2001........

Can someone let me know what they are doing?