Bury Your Dead: It’s Nothing Personal

When you play loud and fast and spend much of your time growling, a name like Bury Your Dead is a prerequisite. You have to look like a thuggish, tattooed freak too. Under no circumstances can you wear a polo shirt. For that matter, it’s best if you avoid bathing for long stretches and encourage fighting among your fans. BYD is another fierce thrash-metal screamo outfit that does nothing to dissuade any stereotypes. The songs never let up, though occasionally a melody surfaces (likely by accident). For the genre, this is acceptable stuff, though it’s not first-thing-in-the-morning music for anyone.

Rating: * *

August Burns Red: Constellations

August Burns Red blazes with fast guitar work, off-rhythm syncopation, and lots and lots of irritating screaming. One source describes their music as “Christian metalcore.” And why not? By why all the screaming? It’s loud and aggressive but not necessarily threatening or the type of thing that is designed to scare children. I don’t sense rage either. They’re not boiling with anger, and they’re not trying to frighten people, so basically they’re just screaming to scream. It’s a gimmick then, much like the Chipmunks who sang with fast-forwarded voices. Yes, August Burns Red, I’ve just compared you to the Chipmunks.

Rating: * *

The Devil Wears Prada: With Roots Above and Branches Below

The band’s goal may be to sound as much like a tortured animal as possible. In fact, they manage to replicate machinery at a slaughterhouse—lots of brutal, rhythmic pounding and pained cries. The shouted lyrics are unintelligible gobbledy gook. The guitar riffs that show up at intervals remind us that we are listening to music as does the appearance of a back-up singer with Tom DeLonge’s pinched, nasal style. This album is what teen boys in beat-up Toyota Celicas listen to at high volumes to impress other teen boys as they chug Red Bulls and rev their whiny engines.

Rating: *