Review: “Touch These Wounds I Came Back From Death” by Brothers Till We Die!

Following up a decent record when you’ve set a high bar for yourselves is always going to be a challenge. Carlos Guty has replaced Seryih Konoplov on bass since 2017’s “The Thin Line Between Death and Immortality” but otherwise the brethren of Madrid Spain Hardcore quintet Brothers Till We Die remain Felipe Alemán on vocals, Mario Vian on Guitar, Pablo Martín on Drums and Edu Barber on second Guitar.

Eerie atmospherics of inaudible voices in a distant dream or drug induced state makeup the 93 second introduction of “Uwu” before it breaks into the hardcore stomp of “Kingdom of Filth” with some joyous downtempo riffs and a slamming gang chant. The first track proper is actually “Llorando a Los Muertos” or “Crying the Dead” which comes spin kicking out of the gate with blast beats followed by a classic two step riff to set it off. It’s a classic Metallic Hardcore that sweeps between Integrity and Downtempo grooves in a seamless motion while incorporating the gang chant and mosh heavy riffs. The presence of Desolated frontman Paul Williams lifts everything. “The Conjuring” sees plenty of bite in the vocals from Felipe Alemán, who is a frontman that would suit any Hardcore or Deathcore band from any country. False ending the track to bring it back for a Slayer esq simple but effective lead riff is a master stroke of musicanship in how to make something simple be brilliantly effective.

Not a Machine Head cover, “Blood For Blood” takes Brothers Till We Die into Downtempo Deathcore territory with for a 100 seconds of ferociousness that would be a short sharp shock of you went straight into it. The gang chant is the only let down because the microphone sounds like its miles away from the chanters. “She Said Don’t Make Others Suffer For Your Personal Hatred” is probably the longest song title you’re going to find anywhere. The album itself lyrically hints at the death of a relationship and this pummellingly good affair is the prime cut of that lyrical content. Pablo Martín puts in a fine display on the kit while loosening up the guitars for some choice pulls and bends gives it a bit more feel. “Psalm 55” starts of as the archtype of a pissed off stomper with a classic hardcore punk bassline intro but when the menace kicks in followed by a flurry of furious blast beats the the band are on fire. It’s a tune that has been around for just over a year at this point and features a guest vocal appearance from Alex Taylor of Malevolence, which begs the question how long has the album been written for waiting for suitable release date? The surprise solo sandwiched between some savage breakdowns is bring out the inner Hatebreed. Pitting in a couple of string breaks to allow the kit to sound off against the vocals alone “Natural Selection” is a prime cut that will no doubt win out live. It’s message is a simple one but brutally honest and effective. Burying the music to allow it to burst out like a jack in the box “Crystal Knife” has a spoken word almost rap part that threatens to derail the train but fortunately it is saved by some crushingly brutal downtempo breakdown work at the back end that is so low and slow it’s trawling the Mariana trench.

Making heavy use of the gang chant and suffering the same fate as the earlier tracks “Forever Means Nothing” loses some of its edge because the chanters sound like they’re chanting into a microphone that’s at the opposite end of an underground carpark. That being said, it’s got one of the best intro riffs on the album and two steps its way across that carpark pretty damn well. From the downtempo breakdown closing of the tune into the pace step up of “Rotting Away” is the smoothest of transitions and the use of menacing stuccato riffage gives the tune plenty of tension and headbanging bounce. It wouldn’t surprise if it was a Desolated track in disguise, such is the high quality of the impact. Closing on the title track “Touch These Wounds I Came Back From Death” is an interesting move. Supposingly picking a track name as the title of the album means it’s the bands impression that it’s one of th finest cuts, so surely you want it for earlier? Well in this case, no. The reason being that the title track features some eerie haunting spoken word lines that would be completely out of place anywhere else but at the end of this offering. Not only that but the tune also features a Deathcore growl at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. So there you go. Brothers Till We Die have made a style shift of sorts and it works really well. [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Uwu
2. Kingdom of Filth
3. Llorando a Los Muertos (Ft. Paul Williams of Desolated)
4. The Conjuring
5. Blood For Blood
6. She Said Don’t Make Others Suffer For Your Personal Hatred
7. Psalm 55 (Ft. Alex Taylor of Malevolence)
8. Natural Selection
9. Crystal Knife
10. Forever Means Nothing
11. Rotting Away
12. Touch These Wounds I Came Back From Death

“Touch These Wounds I Can Come Back From Death” by Brothers Till We Die is out now