Dead Again?

Bring The Bedroom Mosh (2004)

Jordan Rogowski

The album name is Bring The Bedroom Mosh, by a band called Dead Again? Dead, and mosh, definitely not starting off on the right foot with me. Though, I guess I could think positively and say, "hey, at least the album title isn't 'Bleeding Hands In December Because Of Crying Stars That Fell On Deaf Ears When You Looked In My Eyes.'" So at this point, it was going to take something at least mildly impressive to not leave a horrible taste in my mouth, and surprisingly enough, Dead Again?, at least momentarily, made me eat my words.

I won't lie and say that this isn't pretty much standard metalcore fare, but the cohesion and solid musicianship throughout make this 6-song EP a lot more listenable than most. There's still slowdowns for spoken word parts and breakdowns aplenty, but this album shows some promise to someday go beyond
metalcore clichés and create a truly engaging piece of music. The pieces are all in place for something better, but it's not fully realized in this incarnation. Vocalist Chris Evans keeps his scream in the forefront of the music at all times, and it's quite obvious that he's got a voice capable of carrying this band. None of the throaty growling that's prevalent with so many metalcore bands is on this album, and it's better off for it. Evans comes off as more of a cross between Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die and Travis Reilly of Scraps And Heart Attacks (R.I.P.). I do get the feeling at times, however, that they are trying to cop the style of ETID a bit with the lyrics. The clever tongue-in-cheek style that Buckley has done so well for is touched upon here:

This porno slowly turns into a prison film / Every Friday night is the very same thing / A trailer full of advertised loving / Every Friday night is the very same thing / How did it become this bad? / You're not even worthy / Of the six feet the lucky ones are given / you'll receive three in the side yard of my mind."

Potential lyrical similarities aside, the rest of this disc is pretty impressive. Musically, these guys have a sound head on their shoulders. The double bass doesn't have to make an appearance in every single song, and the technicality of a lot of the guitar work is top notch. They're not going to be putting Dillinger out of work anytime soon, but the fact that the music is so cohesive and the guitar work is so well done gives this disc some real replay value. There's some real shredding guitar in the album's closer, "C'mon man, This Is The Future," that will get you bobbing your head, tapping your foot, or doing whatever it is you do when you're really into a specific song. The album's production should also be of note, as it's done damn well. The most is gotten out of each element of the music, without it sounding glossy or overdone, which is a dangerous a lot of the time with this type of music.

As ridiculously titled as Bring The Bedroom Mosh is, there's some solid enjoyment to be gotten from it. Clocking in at less than 20 minutes, you can listen to this album three times rather than again succumb to the "Full House" and "Family Matters" reruns that dominate your weekday evenings. The album can't completely stray away from metalcore clichés, but Reginald VelJohnson would want you to give Dead Again? some of your time