Metal deviants Dead to Fall ask: “Are You Serious?”
William Dixon - March 12th, 2008Dead To Fall is an interesting anomaly in the sea of modern metalcore bands. The band’s first two albums, 2002’s Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces, and 2004’s Villainy and Virtue, were brutal, but they heavily relied on the musical conventions of their genre. The band’s 2006 release, The Phoenix Throne, saw Dead To Fall break away from the tight confines of metalcore by expanding their musicianship and incorporating strains of thrash and death metal into their aggressive sound.
Now, in 2008, Dead To Fall has released Are You Serious?, a progression of the Dead To Fall sound that also doubles as a commentator on the state of metalcore in general.
The cover of Are You Serious? resembles a scene in the 1982 video game fantasy film Tron while the opening track “IQ Test” gives off a similarly pseudo-futuristic aura. “Relax, and focus on the arpeggios,” says a computer-affected voice. Meanwhile, swirls of atmospheric synthesizer stream by. An evil laugh near the end of “IQ Test” lets the listener know all is not well, and the feeling of relaxation all but disappears once “Stupid?” breaks in. “Stupid?” lends itself well as a mosh pit anthem, but the lyrics and title of the song work with the musical clichés to create satire. “Oh, s**t, it’s the death metal riff!” exclaims vocalist Jonathan Hunt while the guitar and drums lock to form a vicious chainsaw riff. “I better sing about some face-ripping…bulls**t.” The song goes on to end with a suggestion from Hunt: “I’ve got a really original idea…end this song with a breakdown.”
“Major Rager” can be seen as a darker, more musically aggressive version of Andrew W.K.’s “Party Hard.” Lyrically, the song relays an account of a raging party, complete with bricks through TVs, smoking trees and a hope that the party will be “the best night of my life.” The chaotic thrash of the instruments echoes the images conjured by the lyrics, with the ending breakdown proclaiming that, indeed, “this is the best night of my life!”
While “Major Rager” and “Stupid?” play off stereotypes, the rest of Are You Serious? stays a bit more, well, serious. “The Future” is ripe with the sort of sci-fi effects you expect in ‘60s movies, while the vocals stay harsh over the churning guitar riffs. “Sleeping Bag” makes use of the sinister guitar melodies and galloping rhythms found throughout The Phoenix Throne, as does “Robo-Destro.”
“Astral Projection/Dream J(ourney)” stands as the most experimental track on the new album with its dreamlike chord progressions, layers of feedback and electronics and shifting time signatures.
Despite the experimentations of songs like “Astral Projection,” Are You Serious? is still no masterpiece. It lacks the strong sense of ebb and flow presented by its predecessor, as well as the deliciously dark undertones of The Phoenix Throne. However, Dead To Fall’s latest work provides metal fans with a departure from the metalcore norm. The band’s tongue-in-cheek humor gives their otherwise dark and gloomy music an element of fun, while the very title of the album poses an interesting question for their contemporaries.
If Dead To Fall is any indication, you don’t have to be serious to play exciting heavy music.