Album Review: Every Time I Die - Low Teens

Buffalo hardcore act Every Time I Die may be closing in on two decades of writing and recording with this eighth and latest studio album, but converse to the typical mellowing of bands with age, they're more ferocious now than ever before.

Low Teens has no qualms with taking the band to some of their heaviest sounds, immediately kicking speakers under Fear & Trembling with the demented, scattering sounds of guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams before giving us the first album taste of new drummer Daniel Davison. The instrumental combination the group now brings is teeming with energy and thrash riffs, frequently sweeping through breakneck pace before giving just enough breathing room for a throbbing melodic breakdown such as with The Coin Has A Say.

Vocalist Keith Buckley is pure savagery across nearly all tracks with his vocal approach, filthy and guttural and lyrically still remaining largely rooted in a frustrated sense of mind. Strangely it's the slower paced moments that stretch Buckley to a new and intriguing sound such as the groovy harmonies performing alongside guest vocalist Brendon Urie on It Remembers, or the straight rock underbelly of Two Summers.

Building further on the chiselled style and sharp production of 2014's From Parts Unknown while still remaining as chaotic and unpredictable as a dusty circle pit, Low Teens is the most complete Every Time I Die record that we've heard so far and undoubtedly their best release to date.