Every Time I Die - Gutter Phenomenon   

Not quite the phenomenon expected

Two thousand and three's Hot Damn! by Buffalo (New York, U.S.A.) quintet Every Time I Die was the album that made people sit up and take notice after they'd made some small waves in the scene with their debut EP Burial Plot Bidding War and their first long player Last Night In Town (from 2002). After a successful jaunt as a part of 2004's Ozzfest's second stage and tours with the likes of As I Lay Dying, Unearth and Dillinger Escape Plan, the group have returned with Gutter Phenomenon - the title referring to the term that was coined in the 1950's to describe the “sinful” outbreak of rock 'n' roll.

The album immediately kicks off with a flurry of angst ridden metal in Apocalypse Then And Now from vocalist Keith Buckley, guitarists Andy Williams and Jordan Buckley, bassist Stephen Micciche and drummer Michael “Ratboy” Novak. As the album moves to Kill The Music (featuring a guest vocal appearance by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance), Buckley shifts to exploring more of his vocal range than rather than relying too much on his ability to scream like a banshee which sees the album take on a little more depth. Rest assured that with short and cutting songs like Bored Stiff, the rabidness is as present as ever which is sure to keep old fans happy. But it's the more, dare I say, structured songs like Easy Tiger that show a band who're evolving but still delivering heavy hooks unlike the contrasting chaotic fury of Tusk And Temper.

The New Black is a little formulaic and slow by comparison to the rest of the album and even the predictable mid section can't save the song from slipping into the “filler” category. The second and final guest appearance on the album is courtesy of Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo on Champing At The Bit which is one of the more dynamic tracks on the album and Gloom And How It Gets That Way throws a myriad of riffs together to the point of some of them not really making the impact that they should. Guitarred And Feathered and L'Astronaut contain a few metal moments throughout compared to the more structured finale in Pretty Dirty.

Gutter Phenomenon isn't quite the next step from Hot Damn! Instead, it sees Every Time I Die expanding only slightly on the direction of its predecessor and not straying too far from their roots making it album that should please most fans of the emo-screamo genre.

(Roadrunner Records/Universal Distribution)