13th February 2022

Review: “Semantics” by Dead/Awake

Breaking the chains of Rockford Illinois with 2018 single “Vagabond” which has surpassed 1.2 million Spotify streams, Deathcore quintet Dead/Awake had already been in existence for a year. Since gone from strength to strength with releasing their self titled full length in 2019, swiftly followed by the vicious blows of “Insurrectionist” and “Meloncholia“. An array of guest vocal appearances have appeared on those with Duncan Bentley from South African Deathcore Brutes Vulvodynia, former Alpha Wolf frontman Aiden Holmes, Frankie Palmeri from Emmure and Tyler Shelton of Traitors to name but a few all making their mark like dynamite on a rock face…

…so this second EP in four months is the second release in a row not to feature any guests with the current line up of vocalist Dillon James Hare, drummer Payton Kuhn, bassist Anthony Schlickman and axe wielding duo Michael Campa and Michael Levi deciding to go it alone and the result of that is nothing short of an incendiary collection of short, sharp burning cuts. Occupying similar territory to Emmure with and explosive set of blistering Nu-Metalcore riffs “Catalyst/Expendable” is a twin headed dragon sees Hare switch from a brutal bark to an eerie Frankie Palmeri esq spoken word the abrasive menace and sinister atmosphere hitting hard in a similar way to the now defunct Australian supergroup Dealer. Follow up “Know It All” then steps up to swing with a more sinister edge, the tale of a broken relationship, as vocally and lyrically vicious as they come while introducing the first of a number of vocal experiments with rap lines before “Apologies” goes straight Nu-Metalcore with some achingly beautiful cleans. It’s a strange one because heard in isolation it could be a different band as bar the odd fee seconds of punch, the ambient parts of melodic backing are a real departure from what the bands core sound is. It’s a risk that pays off and wouldn’t have fitted anywhere else with a deep running sentimental lyric that is clearly very meaningful to the band themselves. Flipping the script back to their usual caustic abrasions for the title track is an obvious play and loaded with bounce and high octane energy the rap screams remind of Davy Muse from Vanna during a tsunami of barbed attacks. Powerful and diverse, this one is one that keeps you guessing on the first few spins and is an absolute pleasure thereafter with risk and reward balanced on a knife edge [8/10]

Track listing