Exit by Name's second album
Exit By Name are most definitely in the screaming metal category. The first thing that grabbed my attention were the vocals. Rather than growl and grunt from the bowels, the vocals are definitely coming from the tops of the lungs. They claim that the Deftones are one of their influences, and certainly, the higher pitched vocals bear some resemblance. I was reminded a little of Killswitch Engage, some of the squeakier vocals from Bullet for my Valentine, but mostly, the vocals sound similar to Sikth's. However, after a while, Exit by Name's vocals tend to grate a little; it'll take them a while to attain the level of the aforementioned bands.
"Death Race 2004" has a rather monotonous guitar riff throughout although the intensity and volume of the vocals changes well over the entire song. "Split and Undone" did very little for me, and just seemed to moan on by.
"The Scene is Dead, Long Live the Scene" sounds much better. The pace and intensity changes across the song, thought the drumming sounds a little muted and more cymbal heavy in places. Again, despite some solid guitar playing, there are no really memorable riffs.
"Before there is glitter, there is blood" feels fairly solid thought the vocal stylings don't change at all. By about two and a half minutes in, the beat and guitars become monotonous again. This is certainly a band to perhaps mosh too when drunk but not to listen to.
"Bones and Dust" starts off sounding off key and a little too mixed up. The pauses within the song seem to be there only to break the monotony. "Interactions" is a step in the right direction I feel. During the verses, the guitars and vocals don't seem to mix too well but the bridges and choruses feel quite metal and melodic. This song was one of the strong points of the album.
The second half of the album feels stronger with only one or two exceptions. "The N of the World" starts with a solid introduction and builds into a nice vocal section where the singer seems to show his range and styles off a little more. This track isn't quite as head-banging as the others. "A Curse" follows in a similar vein with a good introduction. "I've Lost my way" has a solid beat and doesn't sound anywhere near as boring as the first half of the album.
The band claim that they don't wish to be part of a genre - that they wish to "be a cross-over band, keeping things brutal but with melodic injections. We couldn't give a shit who your new favourite band is this week, keep your' ears & minds open, your' eyes blinkered to trends, this is heavy music from the heart." This seems somewhat cliché and ironic coming from this band who seem to be a little too monotonous in places. It would be interesting to hear this band live after a few beers since they can throw down a good beat, especially towards the end of the album.