Death By Stereo – Into The Valley Of Death

There are some CDs out there that are special, ones that are not incredibly popular, ones that will most likely not go gold, but ones which once you hear it, it is indescribable. Death By Stereo‘s second Epitaphrelease, Into The Valley Of Death is one of those CDs. It is a album done in true Do It Yourself fashion, as it was produced by the Death‘s very own bassist, Paul Miner, even though Epitaph gave them more funding then previous times. He did an excellent job at it. Making the vocals clear along with smooth, hardcore guitar riffs in the background.

The band incorporates many different usage of music.  Three guitars (one of them bass) mix together to give gut-wrenching riffs and powerful grooves. Efrem Shultz’s vocals are superb. Whether yelling at the top of his lungs or whispering strong lyrics away, the vocals are always something to look forward to. Background vocals are also incorporated into some songs giving a different sound and feel. Drumming by Tim Bender is hard and fast, powerfully manipulated to give the album a extra special touch. Lyric wise, there are no downsides. Angst-driven, anti-establishment lyrics make the Death what they truly are. Be it about the horrible music played on main stream with no individuality or about the Bush administration, they are always powerful and straight to the point.

Beyond The Blinders is the second track, and one of my favorites. The vocals are hard, starting off with a powerful scream with echoes of the word “You”, they are also catchy and easy to remember. Not only hardcore vocals are used in this display of musical skill, there are also portions of smooth soft vocals which are placed in perfect places for the song. The lyrics are once again strong and politically aggravated. The drumming and guitar work in it are extravagant with multiple changes in tone and speed and key moments. Just a generally good song. Next is the first single, Wasted Words. It starts off soft and melodic, then the vocals come screaming in right at your face with the pace picking up at that exact moment. It is a fast paced song with an AMAZING bass sound in the background. It is a good song and a good choice for a single.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things (track 9) starts off with a great combination of guitar work The vocals aren’t quite as clear as the others, but are very powerful, all about how pop-culture is defining the society. And how no one is an individual anymore and it is basically all about fighting it. It is probably my third favorite track, while me favorite is track 11, Flag Day. The song is a bit softer then the rest of the album but still has the same hard feel that the Death represents. The instruments are all incredibly smooth and in perfect harmony of one another. It is all about being loyal to America and doing everything and yet getting nothing in return. It is a spectacular song with amazing lyrics.