Customer Reviews

Bury Your Dead

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As is the case in many rough scenarios, finding a replacement for your best singer in a band can be tasking. You would think it'd be difficult for a band like Bury Your Dead after Mat Bruso left. Not only does current frontman Myke Terry do the job well, but he adds his own style, even incorporating clean singing into the mix rather than keeping it hardcore through and through. Not saying that Mat wasn't good, Beauty And The Breakdown for me was the best the band had to offer. They once again worked with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, Chimaira, DevilDriver, God Forbid) to create something that not only embodied the Bury Your Dead sound, but also had surprising elements. Like I said, you get to hear some clean singing here and there, plus Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge lends a guitar solo to the track Year One, which is a first for the band (having guitar solos, I mean). The album is also the first since You Had Me At Hello to not follow any themes (Cover Your Tracks featured songs named after Tom Cruise films, and Beauty And The Breakdown featured songs named from fairy tales). This isn't Beauty And The Breakdown pt.II...but do I think it's better? I like to think they're on par as equally good albums, it's hard to choose the better of the two. You would just have to check for yourself.

What I have to say it took me a year to like this cd. The reason for this, I wasn't happy at all that Mat Bruso left. Now a year later I have come to accept Myke Terry as vocalist, however this cd doesn't top beauty and the breakdown, my favorite cd of the last five years. The reason I give this cd 4/5 stars is because I think that if Myke Terry got his way on this cd, there would be singing on this one, just like there is on it's nothing personal. This cd is good enough for me, but not the best. I don't regret the $15 I paid for this cd the day it came out.

I've always had a soft spot for BYD, so when Beauty and the Breakdown came out, it was bitter sweet-in the sense that they went a new direction so they were willing to break out of the "hardcore" mold, yet kept some of their arsenal like matty b's voice style and lyrical content. Still, this album pretty much was a stamp on the envelope of where their new materiel was going.

As soon as I heard that Bruso departed from BYD, I was bummed-what was to happen to BYD? Then I heard they found a more permanent replacement and they were releasing another album. At this point, it was safe to say that they were going into that "numetal/metalcore" genre. That mixed with the sans-bruso factor, made me a little hesitant to hear the new album.

In the name of trying new things out, and since it was still BYD, I decided to hear em out. I was really scared that they'd stretch the gulf that separates "hardcore" and "numetal" even further to where you wouldn't recognize it was BYD anymore. Luckily, Mark's drumming lets you know it's BYD. Honestly, there weren't many musical differences (other than the obvious Bruso situation) than from Beauty and the Breakdown.

The tracks that stand out to me were the 1st, 5th and 11th track. Come to think of it, the first track REALLY reminded me of Fear Factory, that, coupled with the clean vocals every now and then on the album make that even more apparent, other than the clean vocals though-the guy really sounds like Mat! Track 3's beginning riffs reminded me of a hair metal song that I JUST can't remember-I wanna say a Judas Priest song.

All in all, a good effort, really reminiscent of Beauty and the Breakdown, however some parts of the album were kind of a turn off-for example Track 6. That solo along with the vocals on the track (clean to static) kinda reminded me of Avenged Sevenfold. Yeah, I know change is good, but whats good for some ain't always good for others. And Track 2-which kept reminding me of something that Powerman 5000 (like I said, numetal) would play.

I like BYD for that "in your face" style they brought with "Cover Your Tracks" and "You Had Me at Hello" and even carried over to "Beauty and the Breakdown". The BYD S/T album isn't bad-but it's not their best, either. I still say it's worth a listen, though. I encourage you to try the samples on amazon or even the full tracks on their myspace page, who knows-it might be for you. I applaud them for looking into other directions, I just wish they'd stray from certain "mainstream" elements that older BYD would've kicked in the face!

Since matt left i tought this band was not gonna release any good stuff anymore.But this album sounds pretty good the music is good but im still not sure about the new singer i mean it looks in someway that his forcing his voice to sound hard,he kind of sounds like matt but matt is much better to me he just keeps it hardcore.Yeah and the new singer sings in clean vocals too i think he should just keep the screaming(if he can)is much better for a band like bury your dead.I listen more to their other stuff than this one though,i haven't listen to this one that much mostly just the first song.If you like bury your dead i say you should check this one out but i gotta say that i really don't like the new singer he sucks.But anyway check it out for the music but Beauty and the breakdown is much better than this,is the best they will ever put out.3/6 stars,oh and the cover is frickin cool.

I don't understand people's disposition towards metal these days, maybe even rock music in general. They want every album exactly the same as the last, a steady slew of monotonous static. I've checked out these guys' history, and their sound is about the same from the first album to this one, yet many talk of how drastically their sound has changed. Killswitch Engage kicks your @ss, and these guys do too, I don't care. If not anything else, buy this album for the sole reason of Mark Tremonti's (of Creed and Alter Bridge) solo on track six, "Year One." Seriously. It's a heck of a solo.

This album is a really good album to listen to when you just want something to put on and play. I personaly like more death black and viking metal, than metalcore, but these guys are decent. Wish they would be more consistant.

We all gotta grow up sometime. For the Worcester, Massachusetts-based hard/mosh/metalcore stalwarts by the name of Bury Your Dead, that time came in 2007. They enjoyed ample success with the release of their third full-length, "Beauty And The Breakdown" in 2006. After all, it was produced by a well-known guy (Jason Suecof), and went on to sell a fairly well-respected number of copies, and lead to several months of touring. However, vocalist Mat Bruso announced in early 2007 that he had left the group in order to go back to school and get a degree in teaching. (And with a reason like that, who could be mad at him?!)

Incomplete yet undeterred, the rest of the band returned a year later with a few tricks up their sleeve, including a new vocalist (Myke Terry), a new album (2008's self-titled effort), and more-or-less a new sound, too. No, no, they didn't take out any of the heaviness that old-school fans are used to hearing. All of the usual BYD musical ingredients - i.e. aggressive tempos, Crowbar-inspired downtuned guitars, and slamdanceable breakdowns - remain firmly in place here. But the difference this time around is Terry, who is a much more mature and well-rounded singer, and can actually carry a tune! On this album, he offsets all of the said heaviness with distinctly melodic choruses complete with actual limpid singing. The result is a memorable contrast, and a vocalist who has already undeniably come into his own (and put his own stamp on the music).

Granted, this "growl and croon" style isn't exactly new: Killswitch Engage started doing it (and popularizing it) several years ago (way back in 2002). But at least Bury Your Dead have now distinctly separated themselves from all of the gobs and gobs of Jamey Jasta imitators on the market today. Plus, this quintet may now sound like a Johnny-come-lately to the already overcrowded heavy-yet-melodic metalcore scene. But one should at least credit them for breaking their own ground; and by expanding on their sound and stepping outside of the safety-zone. Also, on a side note, there's a positive vibe coursing through these songs, so that should be commended, too.

"Sympathy Orchestra" explodes out of the gate as an visceral and lumbering salvo. Its barrage of crushing, wall-of-sound instruments, foundation-shaking rhythms, and punishing breakdowns sound tantamount to a bunch of boulders falling off of a cliff. But give it a while and you'll see it seamlessly segue into a bit of infectious melody, with cleanly-sung vocal lines accented well by some cool keyboard flourishes. Track two, "Hands To Hide The Shame," is similar: Beginning on a really hard, tight, and driving note before suddenly changing directions and smacking the listener in the face with a really big, catchy, epic, hit-single-worthy chorus.

There are three more of the album's most memorable moments, and they are also its most experimental. "Year One" features a good, heartfelt chorus in the vein of say, Diecast or Soilwork, stop-start time-signatures, and even a guitar solo! (Although, to be fair, it is quite a mediocre one.) Next, "Disposably Yours" is a very thrashy number with really memorable vocal patterns. And most surprisingly, "Fool's Gold" is actually somewhat progg-y. It features a melodic guitar intro (a la Avenged Sevenfold), and yet another wide-open melodic chorus with more nice vocal harmonies.

Back on more familiar ground, the fiery "Infidels Hymn," and the set closer, "Dust To Dust," which are backed by deep grooves, churning, industrial-strength guitar leads, and steady, humming bass lines, are two primo old-school- hardcore beatdowns. And elsewhere, "Fever Dream" and "Angel With A Dirty Face" boast up-tempo speeds, hooky, lock-step crunch, Hatebreed-inspired chugging, and noteworthy, Acacia Strain-like rapid-fire double bass slamming.

On the downside, "Womb Disease," with its "chugga-chugga" rhythm that could be mistaken for a Sevendust outtake, is almost certain to rub anybody who hates the "nu-metal" genre the wrong way. And "A Devil's Ransom" may a very mosh-pit-ready tune, but it is ultimately too repetitive and circular to be considered interesting. But even if "Bury Your Dead" loses a few points for those two tracks, it is still a good, rock-solid record with substantial mature and creative strides, thus making it clear evidence that this is a band on the rise.

Well Ok I'm just going to keep this review kind of short and tell you more or less what you need to know about the record:

The Good: Mike Terry is more than a suitable replacement for Matt Bruso on vocals. In fact he almost sounds identical to Matt in a lot of ways. If the cd had come out and there had been no notice that the band had changed vocalists, I guarantee no one would even notice. The music is still heavy, it's still got that Bury Your Dead groove, and there's plenty of breakdowns and sing-a-longs like one would expect. The production is super tight, so the album sounds just as good if not better than most heavy releases you'll hear in this genre.

The Bad: Well as with most hardcore of this type, the songs are kind of generic. Personally I feel the band was coming off what was their best effort in "Beauty and the Breakdown," and compared to any of their back catalogue, these songs aren't immediately catchy or that special. Yea they have some nice parts here and there, but I can hardly think of any standouts on the disc aside from maybe "A Devil's Ransom." Unfortunately (as is a major downside to this genre) the disc doesn't offer that much replay value.

The Ugly: Funny enough, it also involves Mike Terry's vocals. Sorry but I can't be the only one who believes that clean singing has absolutely no place on a BYD album. It just doesn't fit their style. Yea it only comes in about 3 or 4 songs, but the parts just aren't done that well. I appreciate the fact they tried to step up a bit and diversify, but it falls short.

So for what it's worth, the self-titled BYD album is more-or-less what you'd expect from the band and this style of music. It's tough, heavy, got the mosh parts, but it's not really that interesting. It's not a total throwaway, but in comparison to some of their much better written songs ("Magnolia," "House of Straw" etc..) there isn't much to write home about here. I don't think most people expect anything groundbreaking from a band like Bury Your Dead, but they are one of the better bands of this type simply in terms of lyrics and musical ability. Overall the disc might be fun to listen to occasionally, but I don't see it tracking up a large amount time on anyone's cd player or ipod.

bury your dead is great. This release is alittle different because there is a new singer called mike. It is cool because he sounds alot like the original singer. The album is closest sounding like beauty and the breakdown. you will like it.

I often read reviews if I am 50/50 about buying a CD. Hopefully this helps. I purchased this album the day it came out because it's Bury Your Dead, they make hardcore music the right way. Fast, catchy and unrelenting.
If you are looking for the best hardcore CD ever, this is not your CD. If you are looking forward to Bury Your Dead's new album and enjoy their old stuff this is definitely for you. If you enjoy hardcore music for the above reasons I would recommend this CD.

If I was to compare this CD to their back catalogue, I would describe it as a musical progression from Beauty and the Breakdown. A thing I love about BYD is that they have definitely gotten better song writing and production wise over the years, but there style of music is still the same. They have stuck to writing hardcore songs. BYD isn't a band you liked who has changed over the years and you say 'I like there old stuff better than there new stuff.'
I would put Hatebreed and BYD into the same breath on this aspect, one legendary (Hatebreed) and one great (BYD) hardcore band that have stuck to hardcore, but there sound has evolved and simply gotten better over the years. You can enjoy all of there cd s because it is the hardcore sound you love but all the albums are different.

My thoughts on a couple of criticisms I have heard about this record;
1. "It is a new singer, and he isn't as good...."
Well yeah, it is a new singer, (and too bad Michael Crafter didn't work out, it would have been awesome to BYD in Australia) but I would rather be listening to this CD with a new BYD singer than 99% of other CDs being made at the moment. (The same goes for AC/DC, I hate it when people compare pre and post Bon Scott AC/DC. At least they are still going!) And even though I knew it was a new singer, honestly he sounds crazily like Matt. I don't know if that is a coincidence or they did something to his voice post production. He is a good singer, and I reckon the band landed on their feet finding this dude. Welcome aboard Myke!

2."This is another band that has gone melodic"
A post above this touched on this issue, and this is no Atreyu. There is 11 songs and two songs have one melodic verse in them each. I think this is more the band trying something new. I would be up in arms if 9 songs were melodic and only two were fast and riffy.

I would recommend this if you have past BYD cds but if you are a first time BYD buyer check out 'Cover Your Tracks' you won't regret it.