| Tried and true, Chicago?s metalcore masters Dead To Fall return with their sophomore effort for Victory Records entitled ?Villainy & Virtue?. ?Villainy & Virtue? combines Swedish metal nuances from their first album, ?Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces?, with hardcore influenced death metal making ?Villainy & Virtue? a landmark album and an indicator of the shape of American metalcore to come.
Formed in 1999, Dead To Fall has been a band of many changes. Their Victory debut, ?Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces?, garnered rave reviews from regional and national press and was supported by tours with bands from The Red Chord to Malevolent Creation to Darkest Hour before the band suffered some serious blows. Their drummer, one of the main songwriters of the band, left. After losing one guitar player, the other decided that it was time to finish up school. Finding replacement after replacement, Dead To Fall was left weak and wounded, unsure of their future and not ready for an untimely demise. ?There have definitely been some rough times in Dead To Fall?, said Jon (vocals). ?After Dan and Bryan left and we were finding fill-in members that would decide that they weren?t ready for a full-time band, it was probably one of the lowest points in my life?. The band finally pulled together a ready, willing, and able lineup for touring and recording and began writing ?Villainy & Virtue?. This new lineup includes original members Jon Hunt on vocals, Justin Jakimak on bass, and main songwriter Antone Jones returning to assist. Newcomers Matt Matera (formerly of Milwaukee hardcore band 7 Angels 7 Plagues) took over second guitar and Evan Kaplan was seated comfortably behind the drum set. Dead To Fall was back.
Dead To Fall headed to Trax East Studios with producer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, Dillinger Escape Plan, God Forbid) in February of 2004 to record ?Villainy & Virtue?. ?The album is definitely more hardcore/death metal oriented than the last one which I think is great. Don?t get me wrong, you?ll still find some sweet Gothenburg style Swedish metal riffs on there, but I think our sound has definitely grown and evolved since the last time we were in the studio?, said Jon Hunt. ?Villainy & Virtue? has an obviously mature feel to it and is heavier and more organic sounding than the cleaner, more polished ?Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces?. Their influences shine through on this record, bands like Slayer, At The Gates, and Coalesce have helped Dead To Fall evolve into the brigade of audible turmoil that created ?Villainy & Virtue?.
?Villainy & Virtue?, an album dealing with the personal daily struggle between good and evil, can be compared to the legendary ?Wolverine Blues? by Entombed, ?Heartwork? from Carcass, and Meshuggah?s ?Nothing?. Their combination of death metal, melodic metal, hardcore, and electronic interludes shows that Dead To Fall are one of 2005?s heavy hitting contenders in the metalcore scene. ?Villainy & Virtue?, in stores September 7th, is a brutally heavy, honest, valiant, and introspective follow-up record that shows Dead To Fall, although at one time almost dead, did not fall.
Be sure to catch Dead To Fall on the road this fall with Martyr AD and Haste The Day. |
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