This Is Your Life

This Is Your Life [7-inch] (2010)

Rich Cocksedge

This Is Your Life is a five-piece from the hotbed of punk rock, Richmond, Va. They specialize in a melodic hardcore approach that immediately brings to mind A Wilhem Scream with the technical guitars whilst there are obviously nods towards the more established and well-known local band, Strike Anywhere.

It can be difficult sometimes to really get across much about your band on a three-track release, where the body of work is not large enough to see how the quality is maintained or otherwise, but on the evidence here This Is Your Life have done quite a good job at representing themselves. With the twin guitars working well in tandem, this is the main focus alongside the vocals whilst the rhythm section provides the furious structure for the songs to come together in an effective way.

First track "A Well Needed Cleanse" shows the promise of the band and is an enjoyable romp with the right combination of melody and power to keep the balance right, providing a strong opening.

"The Highs and Lows of Basement Shows" is the standout track here and really shows the band at the top of its game, with it being catchy without losing any of the edge that the music delivers. I do find the vocals to be perfect for this genre and this adds a lot of character to the overall sound of the band.

"Persevere" again shows that the band has a good handle on how this kind of music needs to be played without it coming across as too technical and I'd guess that a This Is Your Life live show could be set against a sea of flailing bodies in the basement that they sing about.

The band also has a tour EP available on Bandcamp (as is this seven-inch) which came out in 2011. I don't think that it really reaches the same level as the three tracks on the self-titled, but it's still worth checking out.