KKKK With a full scale war being broadcast live to our sofas on the 24-hour rolling news, Death By Stereo's third full-length album serves as a timely...

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KKKK

With a full scale war being broadcast live to our sofas on the 24-hour rolling news, Death By Stereo's third full-length album serves as a timely reminder that punk in the 21st century doesn't have to be solely about broken hearts and baggy pants. 'Into The Valley Of Death' is angry and impassioned, but more importantly it's angry, impassioned and intelligent with a dusting of humor to boot. There's no denying the rag and revulsion that respectively fuel anti-Bush diatribe 'Good Morning America' and the self-explanatory, 'Shh, It'll be Our Little Secret' but, equally, you can't deliver a song called 'I Wouldn't Piss In Your Ear If Your Brain Was On Fire' and be po-faced about it. They might not care about lifestyles of the rich and famous, and it's almost certain they don't give a toss which girl the bad guys want but, where many politically aware outfits offer only bone-headed belligerence, Death By Stereo - like Propaghandi, Anti-Flag and too few others - serve up their polemic laced with an acid wit.

Musically they provide themselves with the perfect base for such a lyrical slant, threading moments of subtlety and unexpected twists through jagged pillars of noise. Tracks like 'The Plague' and 'Beyond The Blinders' mix serrated metal riffs and a raw punk feel with ragged melodies and hugely infectious hooks. 'Wasted Words' pastes swirling banks of keyboard over abrasive snarls while 'Let Down And Alone' augments a rampaging hardcore beat with a choral vocal arrangement that could almost have been one of Iron Maiden's more pompous moments.

Indeed, despite their place as cult punk icons, there's no attempt to disguise the classic metal influence that permeates Death By Stereo's sound. On 'Flag Day' guitarists Dan Palmer and Tito get to finger their frets to their hearts desire, but Efrem Schulz's unique vocals keep everything tied to the street. The man sounds like a raging tramp howling over the last Diamond White, but it's a style that seems to mesh perfectly with the band's unorthodox mixing of styles.

Incendiary, cynical, raging and thoroughly individual, 'Into The Valley Of Death' might just be enough to reaffirm your faith in a genre that was always supposed to be all things and more.

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How about we call this "Into the Valley of Awesomeness!" Seriously - DEATH BY STEREO really outdid themselves with this release, their third full-length,...

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How about we call this "Into the Valley of Awesomeness!"

Seriously - DEATH BY STEREO really outdid themselves with this release, their third full-length, and second for Epitaph. As much as I dig their prior release, "Day of Death," it didn't strike me as virulent and as bashing as their debut, "If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die," but holy hell and everything in between, "Into the Valley of Death" is purely stunning. More

If you're wondering what possibly could these guys have done as to make them beat previous successes, the clear and concise answer is: MORE FUCKING METAL!!! Never a band to shy away from the hard and fast, The DEATH just go all out with their metal tendencies and technical proficiencies and blow the doors from the hinges. Additionally, supurb production - way better than prior works - finally gives this band the anchor of fortitude in the percussion that they had been missing. Whether it's the creative, head-bang-inducing double bass, or the steady improvement in Efrem's singing and screaming capacities, DEATH BY STEREO click on all cylinders. There's a few quirks to be found on "Into the Valley of Death" that present new frontiers for the band; namely the increase in backing vocals (ooooohs and ahhhhhs, a la BAD RELIGION - totally makes this disc a blast to sing along to), and Efrem's tendency to sound like the singer from SYSTEM OF A DOWN - which is neither goor nor bad, but hard to ignore.

Lyrically, DEATH BY STEREO are consistent with prior works, scoping out tense social and political diatribes and matching them with similarly vitrolic hysterics towards a few personal demons and experiences, especially on the fourth track, "I Wouldn't Piss In Your Ear If Your Brain Was On Fire," which recounts an unfortunate incident on the 2002 Warped Tour involving the band. One reason why I've always admired and identified with this band is that the lyrics are very upfront and unrelenting in truth, and the tune "Flag Day" continues to support that with the lines, "you never said the world would tear us apart / you never said that life would be this fucking hard." Anyway, with bigger breakdowns, faster songs, and an untouchable varnish of spit and bile, DEATH BY STEREO bring out the absolute most intense evocative emotions from the listener, and it's nothing short of fascinating.

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