31st March 2018

Review: “The Thin Line Between Death And Immortality” by Brothers Till We Die

Madrid, Spain is the home of Metallic Beatdown Hardcore crew Brothers Till We Die. The band formed in 2012 and have toured across Europe several times playing shows in support of the likes of German Metalcore mainstays Caliban, Californian Deathcore crew Suicide Silence & Californian Hardcore heavyweights Terror. In April, they will head out with our very own Sheffield bruisers Malevolence. So what do they sound like?

The bands 2017 album “The Thin Line Between Death and Immortality” is their second full length album and the follow up the 2015’s “Blood Death Suffering Pain” EP which features a surprising and brutal cover of Nicky Minaj‘s hit “Anaconda”. Starting with the slow and melancholic atmospheric tones of instrumental opener “Survival or Defeat” acting as a pallet cleanser before the album bursts into the title track “The Thin Line Between Death and Immortality”. The classic Beatdown Hardcore guitar tones, riffage and pummelling drum work from Pablo Martín are accompanied by what can only be described as Felipe Alemán’s wet Deathcore unclean vocals. It’s fist pumping, head banging material from the very beginning. “Hand to Hand” includes a classic gang chant vocal alongside a driving bass riff from Carlos Guty in fine style. It’s a classic lyrically positive hardcore themed about the rise above the struggle to “this thing we do”. “Agony Loves Me” is the first song to introduce an anguish soaked vaguely clean vocal alongside the powerful uncleans and further gang chants as the band build on the previously used elements to mount a sustained attack. Staccato riffing and even a short and sweet solo from guitar duelling duo Mario Vian and Edu Barber step things up a notch. “Facta Non Verba” Spanish for “Deeds, not words” is another pummel fest of beatdown chugging as the band depict their hard work against the backdrop of back talking liars.

“Back in the Game” ups the pace dramatically as the band smash through some faster paced hardcore, complete with obligatory “Blegh!” and gang chanted vocal “YOU CAN TALK, YOU CAN TALK, WE WILL NEVER STOP.” The second longest song on the album at 3 minutes 46 seconds even closes with a solo. It’s fit for the pit. “Body.Mind.Soul” is some very spiritual guitar work designed to again cleanse the pallet for a minute before utilising the same riff, full force into “武士道 [Bushidō]”. The song asks the simple question “Who will take care of me?” and answers, “me”. It’s a powerful piece of self empowerment that is as much for the Gym if you’re a work out dude as for the pit if you’re a mosher. Yes, the two songs could be one but they’ve been purposefully separated by the band or mixer Vic Ortega to build the atmospherics. “Destruction” opens up with blast beats and does not relent until the bitter end. Pile-driving breakdown upon breakdown with a rise and fall momentum. “Delusional Parasitosis” continues the fury and wrath, really bringing home the quality of not only the musicianship within the genre but also the production work from Total Cabra Studios. Clean tones, clear and crisp drum sounds and a fine vocal recording make the album. The song also features a film speech sample between a play on silence piece of music.

“Echoes” talks through the story of memory and uses lead work over beatdown breakdown to lift the musicianship levels. It’s a story of love gone South that will resonate with every listener. Album closer “October Lullaby” is the longest song on the album at 3 minutes 59 seconds, which tells you firmly where the band are at in their sound. It’s a song that encapsulates all that the band are about, their style, their sound and their lyricism in a single track. Using a fade out and fade back in to close the album on a pummelling high is a piece of magic. We should also take a moment to praise the album’s artwork by Alex Coubert, which is absolutely fantastic. You can find the album over at bandcamp. As far as beatdown hardcore goes, Brothers Till We Die aren’t breaking any moulds here. There are passing nods to the likes of Stampin’ Ground and Terror throughout the solid and unrelenting affair. The vocals are far heavier than say Bryan Garris from Knocked Loose and are more on par with say Tyler Shelton from Traitors but musically and lyrically the three bands have a lot in common. Its fair to say if you’ve heard one song by Brother Till We Die, then you know what you’re you’re going to get, but that’s not a bad thing. There isn’t much variation but it never gets tired. Once again, this album proves that it doesn’t have to be unique to be fun – and often simplicity done to perfection is better than an attempt at perfection done badly. [7.5/10]