Inhale Exhale – Bury Me Alive

Ohio metalcore four piece Inhale Exhale return for their “creatively” titled 2009 release, Bury Me Alive.  And yes, that is sarcasm.  Right from the start Bury Me Alive falls victim to all of the overplayed stylistic tendencies of your average made-for-Hot-Topic hardcore act.

Although released on Solid State Records, just combing through Trustkill Records’ most generic acts should prepare the listener for what is to come.  Bands like Awaken Demons make for an easy reference point since they share the same knack for boring, overly aggressive breakdowns and unnecessarily repetitive growls.

The album opens with “Rooms,” a three-minute crawler that just never seems to end.  While short in reality, guitarist John LaRussa’s tendency to simply bounce between deep heavy riffs and unconventionally high, counterintuitive chords tests the listener’s patience right out of the gate.  Vocalist Ryland Raus occasionally switches styles, at which point the band changes course altogether and temporarily becomes some sort of emo inspired melodicore act much like It Dies Today.  It’s an effort to switch things up, but feels forced at best.

Occasionally something interesting surfaces, but these moments are short lived.  “Better Her Than Me” flirts with a mild grunge influence and during “Intensions” LaRussa actually plays some fairly unique chord combinations – but in the grand scheme of things I’m grasping at straws.

It’s a shame really, because a careful reading through the liner notes and it soon becomes evident that Inhale Exhale is one of the deeper hardcore acts out there.  Rather than simply speaking of brutal examples of death, violence, and despair, Bury Me Alive challenges the listener to grapple with the notion of choice and identity. “Fiction” begs the question of discriminating between illusion and reality in daily life, while “A Dark Place For Your Mind To Be” pleads that listeners understand and question those daily conventions that may be destructive to those around them.  Unfortunately lyrical precision is really all Bury Me Alive has going for it, meaning that many of these moments get lost amongst the repetitive backdrop.

All in all, if you’re really keen on metalcore you might be able to grasp onto something here.  Otherwise, pass this one by but read the lyrics if you get the chance, they’re really quite poetic and insightful.