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By RYAN MAVITY
In two years, Dirge Within has gone from its first show in
Milwaukee to sharing the stage with heavy hitters like Hatebreed
and Type O Negative. Judging by its debut album, Force
Fed Lies, the rapid rise has not been a fluke.
Force Fed Lies is a blistering, energetic opening
statement. The band’s sound is in the vein of bands
like God Forbid, All That Remains, In Flames and Lamb of God—heavy-ass
metalcore. The album features guest spots from Wayne Static,
Corey Beaulieu and Edsel Dope. The opener, “Self Medicate,”
gets things off to a fast start, the title track allows frontman
Jerms Genske to unleash a hell of a growl. “Confession”
shows off the band’s range, with a slow intro exploding
into a massive metalcore blast. “Spit,” featuring
the aforementioned Edsel Dope (who co-produced the album),
sounds like a cross between something Dope and Lamb of God
would do. “New Disease” has a cool guitar intro
and acoustic outro from lead axeman Matt Szlachta before launching
into a pummeling jam as Genske sings “a song for the
voiceless.”
Many of the lyrics are a mix of political statements—“Force
Fed Lies,” “New Disease,” “Complacency”—and
personal songs about broken relationships or drugs—“Self
Medicate,” “Last Goodbye” and “Inhuman.”
The best track might be “Last Goodbye,” if for
nothing else the part where Genske screams, “Here comes
the pain.” Some songs don’t work, such as “Inhuman”
and the closer, “Complacency,” but most have enough
bark to last for days, such as the angry “Stain of Humanity,”
on which Genske promises to rip out somebody’s heart.
Metal never was a genre for subtlety.
Force Fed Lies is a strong debut from a band rapidly
rising up the ladder.
®2009 Live-Metal.net
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