Since By Man set a high standard with their debut full length „we sing the body electric and managed quite well to keep this standard this the „hateloverelations“ ep. Now they are back with a new album and the first impression is a déjà vu as it pops in quite like the ep with a furious screaming attack.
But in the course it gets clearer and clearer that this is not part two of the ep. This is something bigger, this is a piece of art. The style hasn't changed very much. Since By Man are still the metallic part of posthardcore with there to the bone distortioned guitars, the whirlwind drums and the edge cutting bass. I guess those tough guy farts could even beat each other p in the pit to some of their parts. Still this is far more than metalcore. This is manic, this is driving and highly energetic. Oh yeah, and angry it is! One point that makes this record so intense is the fact that there are ahrdly any breaks between the songs. The silence doesn't last longer than a fraction of a second. The vocals are half spoken or rather exclaimed and half screamed in the coughing up blood way. The whole record is in a midtempo, quite the ideal speed for a long drive on an empty motorway by night with light snowfall and all the other guys asleep on the way home after a breathtaking hardcore show far too far away from home...
It took me more than ten times listening to it to find out if I liked this record or not bt now i am quite sure that this is great. I mean, if you take only the guitars. They alone are really awesome and the songs are just great. They got this immediateness and this intensity I love so dear about (post)hardcore. Since By Man really got their own standard up another few inches!
Oh, and don't get fooled by the simple, unspectacular cover art. Take out the booklet and get your minds blown. The photos in their are genius and with them the title of this record really makes sense! [jan]
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