Die Young
““The Message””
(Immigrant Sun)
Here I am looking at the non-descript cover and thinking, “Just another one of those boring metalcore bands,” when Die Young absolutely flatten me on my ass. Stripped-down chaos that leans brilliantly towards emotional hardcore in the same way the excellent Modern Life Is War do (except Die Young are more Agnostic Front, less Minor Threat). If hardcore is to be influenced by metal more so than punk, as is the trend these days, it can go two ways. The horribly wrong route, of course, is the retro metal wankery and Iron Maiden worship. The correct path is to take the power and thrash of bands like Slayer, (old) Metallica, and (early) Megadeth and set it to a head-snap crossover hardcore sound for the current day. Oh ya, then name your band after a Dio song… Ha, doubt they even thought about that one. Awesome metal-tinged hardcore, a fucking triumph considering the metalcore muck I have to wade through on a daily basis.
