Label: Aural Pleasure Music
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Genre: Hard Rock
Link: deadin5.com , Facebook
Lineup:
Robert Libres – Vocals
Brent “X19” Hall – Guitar
Peder “The Terminator” Seglund – Guitar
Dana “Deadly” Forrester – Bass
James Trunko – Drums
Tracklist:
1 Black Friday Holiday
2 Trippin’ on the Inside
3 Silver
4 Still Remains
5 Maggots and Files
6 Killing What’s Left of Me
Hearing a band such as Detroit’s Dead In 5 is always refreshing, and restores some hope for the state of hard rock and heavy metal. Gene Simmons has been quoted declaring rock music as a genre is dead, but hearing bands like this one proves him wrong. Records may not ship platinum, as some KISS records released in their prime were, in fact there was not a single album that was released, then met platinum sales in 2014. But our genre is far from dead. There are many promising bands who continue to release music, and Dead In 5 is definitely one of these bands.
Formed in 2013, and having a self-titled EP, as well as a full-length debut album under their belt, Dead In 5 have most recently released this EP, The Schizophrenic Razor Project. When I found this album in my inbox last week, I wasn’t sure what to expect from and album of this title, from a band called Dead in 5, but I suspected it would be a heavy, sinister death metal record, something I would have no problems with, but since extreme metals are a rare commodity on My Global Mind, I found it surprising that we had one slated for review.
As I gave the Schizophrenic Razor Project my first listen, I was quickly surprised that Dead In 5 is in fact more of an alternative metal band, and a good one at that. Filled with hooky melodies, shredding solos and heavy grooves and the odd blast of clean vocals, Dead In 5 list Mötorhead, Soundgarden and Led Zeppelin as their main influences, however I hear a bit of Pantera’s influence as well, particularly in some of the songs with heavier grooves, as well as in some of vocalist Robert Libres’ screams. These diverse influences are well-mixed together, as I quickly noticed on the opener, Black Friday Holiday kick starts the EP off with a Motorhead-esque rocker. But what shines most is the range in Robert Libres’ voice, he can go from a David Draiman-like clean vocal to an early Pantera sounding Phil Alsomo scream, to Cornel-influenced croons, as well as many different places in between.
This of course is not all that shines here, the songs and the music Libres sings to is also high-calibre as well. The heavy guitar tones from Brent Hill drive many of the grooves, and the pounding rhythm section, Dana Forrester and James Trunko hold it all together. Many of the songs are short and digestible, as the longest is the closer, Killing What’s Left of Me, but the songs are also quite diverse.
From fast rockers, to meaty groovers, songs about sour relationships to the pitfalls of pursuit of fame and fortune over one’s passions, these six songs cover a lot of ground between its kick start to the final croons that slowly bring the EP into its dying seconds.
Written by: Connor Rae
Ratings: Connor 8/10
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