Review by Guest Contributor Chris Petrozzo

EVERY TIME I DIE’s latest effort, Ex Lives, their sixth studio album, comes galloping out of the gate in an absolute cacophony of guttural screams, searing riffs, and cymbal crashes – and it rarely lets up, save for a few intermittent moments.

While ETID’s sound is, by now, so much their own and instantly recognizable, Ex Lives displays some of the band’s heaviest material to date. What distinguishes Ex Lives from ETID’s most recent records, however, is the seamless incorporation of melodic elements into the album’s twelve (or fourteen, if you picked up the deluxe version) tracks. While songs like “We’rewolf” off of The Big Dirty and “Wanderlust” off of New Junk Aesthetic were predominantly poppy, Ex Lives finds the band simultaneously tearing through tracks that integrate those pop elements (specifically melodic vocals and harmonies) alongside seriously scorching riffs and huge breakdowns. Nowhere is this more apparent (or so perfectly executed) than on “Drag King” and “Indian Giver.” The former starts off as a standard, up-tempo ETID song, which eventually gives way to an enormous melodic breakdown with vocalist Keith Buckley, displaying his signature wit, opining, “Who do you love? What does he have that I don’t? What does he have that I don’t? What does he have that I don’t, except you?” The latter begins with a mid-tempo groove, which is followed by atmospheric, ISIS-esque breaks unlike anything the band has ever experimented with before. The result, however, is very satisfying.

Overall, Ex Lives cannot be denied. The band has managed to harness the chaos of their sound into something so controlled and deliberate that somehow simultaneously manages to unapologetically spit in your face. Ex Lives is, in short, a wild ride, but it’s one you cannot help but enjoy.

Epitaph