Lifeless - If I Could Be Anyone But Me

Ah a comparison piece. I love doing these. Almost a year and half ago I was given the pleasure of reviewing Lifeless’ debut full length NLFTW. It was a great experience since, for me, it was the physical evidence of a band finally coming together. It took a confused band that appeared destined to fall off into immediate obscurity to one of the more popular heavy hardcore bands coming out of this area. With a solid production behind it the album sounded massive and went right for the jugular. For a long time I figured the band had blew their wad with their first real outing and then I was delivered the follow-up EP “If I Could Be Anyone But Me”…

Without making things too complicated, Lifeless found a way to reinvent themselves with these 4 songs. The core sound that the band is known for still exists and is still the dominating force but they have made a few key changes, or inclusions I should say, that have made them leaps and bounds better than they previous were. The biggest complaint that I’ve ever heard Lifeless receive was that all their breakdowns were just open chord chug breakdowns. In a lot of instances they were but that fused with the rest of their song structures worked well for them. For these songs it seems that Kyle and Jay have played around more with different chords and that has made their songs all the more enjoyable. They also have added quite a bit more metal to their playing as well. When I first heard the song “Sinking”, which for some reason didn’t end up on this album, I noticed a hint of Slayer making its presence known and the intro reminded me a lot of the intro to the song “Black Sabbath.” These new elements are welcomed additions and I’m glad they kept that creative ball rolling when writing these new songs. The overall sound, while unique to themselves, reminds me a ton of 100 Demons.

With hardcore there are a good number of bands that would rather focus on topics such as brotherhood, unity, PMA, or just the scene itself. Lifeless on the other hand knows that there are a lot of terrible things going on in the world and they have had enough. Enough to the point where they have in essence turned their backs on it. It’s quite clear that they haven’t exercised all their demons yet because the dark lyrical theme that was prevalent during NLFTW is continued on these 4 tracks. The delivery of those lyrics is something else to write home about. I’ve watched Jeremy Tingle come from singer that seemed unsure of himself to a real powerhouse behind the mic. To know that the voice comes from that person is quite incredible. I was blown away by his performance on the full length and in his own way of growth he has added a lot more emotion to his delivery. It’s almost like there is a hint of frustration mixed with the anger.

Lifeless was already on the right path with their full length but this maturity in songwriting only showing that the band isn’t settling. Their growth indicates that they are moving forward to become a much better band. With the strides they have made between this EP and their last record, they are clearly headed in the right direction. This album isn’t even officially out yet and I’m already anticipating their next release, just to see how they outdo themselves.

Home Follow on Twitter! Like on Facebook! Listen to Lifeless