Too Pure To Die We Are a Weapon

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Reviewed by: Ash Levitt   //   Published: 8/18/2004

I have a novel idea. Let's throw caution to the wind. Let's start a band. We'll play a sort of old school style: straight-up (you'll see the irony in a second), no frills hardcore. I don't want any of this singing about broken hearts shit. I don't want any element of sensitivity in this music. I want brutal, fast hardcore with crushing breakdowns. I'm thinking Hatebreed, Earth Crisis, and the massive range in between. The message is important too. Lyrics can only be about straight edge and/or smashing someone's face in. Who's with me

This is precisely what Too Pure to Die's newest offering, We Are a Weapon, is all about. Before I get into the musical aspects of this review, allow me to demonstrate the diversity of the lyrics of this recording.

Track 1: "…For you this is a battle.For me this is life."
Track 2: "…X the fuck up…"
Track 3: "…If you want to get tough.Get tough motherfucker…"
Track 4: "…The bloodbath is soon to come…We will fight…"
Track 5: "…Fuck you…This all ends tonight…"
Track 6: "…Drugs aren't the answer…"
Track 7: "…If I had one chance I'd make today your last…"
Track 8: "…Now I'd rather go home with this X on my hand…"
Track 9: "…Go straight edge…Die for Live for Die for straight edge."
Track 10: "…Make sure you take that last fucking sip…"

This is the kind of stuff that gives straight edge a bad name.If these guys did every thing they talk about in their lyrics, they would kill off most of the hardcore scene. Unless you really hate people who aren't straight edge, do you really think that saying things like "Go straight edge" followed by a threat is going to make someone want to stop smoking, drinking, or whatever

Musically, this recording is not bad, except for the fact that the songs all sound the same. The band is tight, and heavy. The dual vocalist approach is perfect for this type of hardcore (even though there is not much difference between the two voices). However, it still sounds like most Hatebreed songs with the occasional slower, Remembering Never-type breakdown.

Bottom line: There are plenty of bands out there, straight edge and not, who play more or less straight-up, no frills hardcore, and do so in a way that makes them unique (Love is Red, With Honor). No one is suggesting completely reinventing the wheel, but put your own spin on the interpretation of a story that has been told so many times before. At least change themes both musically and lyrically. Instead of investing in this recording, go dust off and listen to your old Hatebreed and Earth Crisis CDs.

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