Dead Season
When Everything’s Lost
2008
Independent

May 20th, 2008 marked the two year long wait for Maine’s quintessential metal band, Dead Season, to release their next full length release. The wait has been highly anticipated and filled with highs and lows for the band. After listening to this release over 10 times before even sitting down to write this review, I must say Dead Season turned tragedy and success into one amazing new release.

That is not to say that the musicians that filled the position before Church were hacks in any light but they were not to the caliber that is on When Everything’s Lost. Steve adds a flow and a texture that pushes this release over all other Dead Season releases of the past. His expertise can be heard on several tracks of this release such as: “Break the Silence” and “Mother”. He is definitely an exciting and dynamic addition to an already incredible local band.

Now to the release: When Everything’s lost marks the second full length release by Dead Season and the first release of all new material since 2006’s Rise. This release is ripe with the signature guitar driven, hard pounding music that we have come to know and love from Dead Season over the past 4 years.

The disk opens with the recent single “Never Decide”. With the first verse, you realize the message Dead Season sets out to tell us with this release: “This is my life/This is my only/Chance to be myself/Can’t take it away”. We are set to hear a disk filled with drive from a band built off of that very drive and desire.

The next track on the disk is the aptly titled “Cancer”. The Truman brothers have recently suffered a personal tragedy with the loss of their mother Margaret to cancer earlier this year. This disk is wrought with emotion that seems to have been drawn from their loss and transferred into their music. Other tracks affected by this tragedy are the emotional “Mother”, “The End”, and “You Keep Me Alive”.

Cancer” is a catchy, single-worthy track that shows how Dead Season is growing as entertainers and not just musicians. The song seems to have been written with live show audience participation in mind with a unanimous “HEY” patched in right before the chorus that just begs fans to join in live.

“Break the Silence”, track 3, is a stand out and another first in a disk full of firsts for Dead Season. On their previous three disks, the band has never focused much attention on the back up vocal talents of guitarist Matt Truman. On When Everything’s Lost, the band uses this ability to its finest. “Break the Silence” is the first track that demonstrates Matt’s ability with a catchy run at the end of the track that will put Dead Season above being just a metal band to being a radio friendly metal band.

When Everything’s Lost is an amazing disk released by one of Maine’s greatest bands. The band has never sounded better. Matt Truman’s lightning quick, heavy hitting, and heartfelt guitar work drive the band through each and every track. To hear the progression of Matt’s playing, check out the guitar solo on track 6 – “Revelation 6”. Ian Truman’s destructive, melodic, and powerful vocals along with his outstanding lyrical ability have given When Everything’s Lost a professional feel.

Andy Hackett again makes every track a lesson for all up and coming drummers. Listening to When Everything’s Lost is a workout in all technical aspects of percussions, from break neck blast beats to changing kick drum signatures. Together with Steve Church on bass, Dead Season are now poised to become what they have been destined to be, the breakout sensation of Maine and the newest kid on the national metal block.

When Everything’s Lost IS the release that all Dead Season fans have been waiting for. Every track on the disk displays the growth that the band has experienced over the past four years. If I declared Rise to be their best achievement to date (Rise review 2006) then their latest release is the one that will take them over the edge. Pick up a copy, listen to it 50 times, learn the words, see them live, share the experience. They may only be a local band for a limited time.

Comments

Search

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."