Once I gave my mum a lift in my car and she forced me to turn Jawbreaker off, calling it “meaningless noise”. This is almost how I feel reviewing this album; it’s not that I don’t like it, more that I don’t really understand it. What I know about Deathcore could be written on the underside of a fingernail, so with that in mind I’ll try to be objective as possible.
This album doesn’t fuck around, exploding into action from the very first second. Bolting out the gate with heavy riffs and pounding drums, ’Ivivo[Exvivo]’ continues at the same pace over its 40 minute span. It feels like one long, intricate song only broken up by a few moments of near silence – there’s a point during the middle of ‘Ego Death’ where I thought the album had finished, only for it to kick back into life.
This is an angry, venomous album, there’s no doubt about it, but it lacks the chug-chug, breakdown pattern that I’ve come to expect from newer metal releases. The Last Ten Seconds of Life are no Suicide Silence thankfully; in fact songs such as ‘Haste Makes Waste’ and ‘Deadfast’ recall early Slipknot, not just in musical style but also in delivery and lyrics. I imagine these call-backs to early nu-metal won’t be appreciated by every listener, but I find they’re a nice addition.
What I like about this album is the small intelligent touches, there’s a great lengthy quotation from ‘1984’ during ‘Morality’ and some of the lyrics are beautifully deep and poetic (and too long to be quoted verbatim). Storm Strope (isn’t that the most metal frontman name you’ve ever heard?) is adept at wordplay, and shouted lines such as “respect is earned though it’s expected in return” are given life through their intense delivery. It takes a few listens to uncover these details, but I quite liked being challenged in this way. I also like to think that The Last Ten Seconds of Life’s name is a reference to The Smiths, though it’s probably not.
Overall, I won’t be rushing to dump a load of Deathcore on my IPod, and I’m unlikely to be spotted seeing The Last Ten Seconds of Life live anytime soon, but this album is solid, with some brilliantly thought out touches. For those who are a fan of the genre – be sure to pick this up.
3.5/5
’Invivo[Exvivo]’ by The Last Ten Seconds of Life is out now via Destiny Records / Workhorse Music.
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Words by Jay Sullivan
