Dead City and That Was Then…

Oh shit, I can definitely hang with this! The cover had me pretty curious because I've always been fascinated by prison tattoos, and sure enough this shit is right up my alley. Dead City hails from Memphis, TN and cranks out three tracks of absolutely vicious metallic hardcore on "The End of Communication" EP (Keep it Core Records). In some ways their attack is a fairly standard dose of thick power chords and shifts in tempo from throbbing mosh breaks to moderately fast power chord rhythms, but there's a darker than average edge to the atmosphere, and the density of the recording has somewhat of a sludgy undercurrent to it that really works. It ends up creating a fairly unique sound for the band, which is more diverse than most in terms of riffing character and the way they manipulate their metallic sensibilities in an atypical fashion. At times it's somewhat reminiscent of a stripped down Bloodlet without the oddball time signatures and all that, which you won't find me complaining about. I also love the drumming—a lot of the fills and patterns really accentuate that 90's styled sense of groove, and I don't encounter that too often these days. I can appreciate the bitterness of the lyrics as well:

I can't save you from yourself, the years you spent inside hell. Make a choice, plot your escape, break the chains of past mistakes. Alter life, it's not too late. Face the ones that bleed you dry, begin again, shed your disguise. From the ash phoenix rise, resurrect, redeem this life.

Dead City "Goddamned"

I'm not seeing this one for sale online for some reason, but I highly fucking recommend it, so contact the band via their website (above) or MySpace to see what you can do about getting your hands on this gem. The band is also actively searching for a label to work with on the aforementioned full-length, so hit 'em up on MySpace or email [email protected] if you're interested... and someone damn well should be!