Death Before Dishonor Friends Family Forever

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Reviewed by: Cory   //   Published: 7/27/2005

If you would have told me five years ago that hardcore was going to become more and more predictable as time went on, I don't think I would have believed it possible. As much as anyone loves hardcore, there have always been and undoubtedly always will be more than a few cliches in its themes, styles and sounds. Before I even put in the new album Friends Family Forever by Death Before Dishonor, I knew almost exactly what it would sound like. Given the combination of the band's name, the packaging and artwork, and the album's lyrics and title, I could just imagine the little sticker in the store that reads: "For Fans of Hatebreed, Madball and Terror!"

Well, big surprise! This CD sounds exactly like you would expect. Every song is comprised of the nu-hardcore trifecta: a handful of breakdowns, singalong parts and those pseudo-metal riffs that have been Hatebreed's signature for the last decade or so. Throw in a guest appearance from Death Threat's Aaron Knuckles and you've got the makings of an instant hit. Don't think for a second that I'm saying this disc doesn't work though. There's enough two-step, pacing back and forth and spin-kick parts to make every kid there for another similar hardcore band buy the disc AND the t-shirt. There's just not a whole lot else. I will give them one brief nod for the clever use of punk/Oi backup vocals on the disc's final track.

Bottom Line: It's inevitable that any artform or style will eventually be reduced to a caricature of itself. It's just amusing to see a band so caught up in their supposed sincerity that the irony of what they're doing seems to escape them. Death Before Dishonor are a competently produced band who have made a listenable cookie-cutter hardcore record with metal riffs. If this sounds like what you listen to, you'll probably love it. If not, don't bother.

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