Dead By Wednesday – Democracy is Dead

Dead By Wednesday – Democracy is Dead / 2005 Left Is Right / 12 Tracks / http://www.dbwmusic.com / http://www.mindsnapmusic.com / Reviewed 30 September 2005

“Resist” mixes Buckethead, Primus, System of a Down, To My Surprise, Ill Nino, and probably another ten bands that I’m not recalling at the current moment. The density of this first track is beyond comparison; any one given second has a Snow-speed vocals mixed with “Birthing” (Samhain)-like guitar lines in front of authoritative drums and a chunky bass that hides amongst the lowest depths of the track. The band does not let up, either – aside from placing pit-worthy guitar lines in “My Voice”, the band really recalls the harder edge of White Zombie during the track.

The challenge will not be how to properly ice ones neck after headbanging to the disc but trying to understand what the hell the band is saying. With lyrics that are spat out quicker than Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony, it takes a dedicated fan to unearth more than a quarter of any tracks on a Dead By Wednesday track. Couple this speed with an average track length of about two and a half minutes and there is virtually no way an individual can get tired of the fare that the band provides throughout “Democracy is Dead”. For one of the more important sets of lyrics (those during the title track), the flow slows to a level where individuals can pick out the beliefs of the band while still singing along to the catchy chorus. The lyrics and fuck-off attitude present in the track has not been seen in such a raw form since Body Count’s “Fuck The Police”, and all I have to say about that is that it is about damn time.

When a political situation is as desperate as it is under Herr Bush, it is a band’s patriotic duty to use their music as a bully pulpit. If anything, the lyrical flow of the second half of the track is even constructed with more care than the already-memorable first half; “Yesterdays” even has a flow over a break-down. This is surprising because many lyrical breakdowns throughout metal and hardcore are just not sustainable and require either drums or a guitar as backup. Dead By Wednesday is the perfect example where we as a nation should be – angry, unified and ready to go into a street-level war. Couple that with catchy and compelling music that challenges listeners both in politics and experimentation and “Democracy is Dead” may just be the most innovative “hard” disc of the year.

Top Tracks: Yesterdays, Enemigo

Rating: 7.4/10