Egypt Ali

After waiting for almost two years, I was incredibly excited to hear that these Buffalo natives were releasing a new record. I have come to take the angst, riffage, and emotional lyrics for which these guys are known for granted. It was with this in mind that I began to digest their newest record Radical. In those respects, the album did not disappoint. 

The opening track, “Dark Distance,” is an excellent example for the pace that this record sets and continues to operate in. The same frantic pacing that I was expecting was overly abundant in this selection. At points I found the mix to be entirely unintelligible in comparison to some of the band’s other songs. It is not amiss to me that this may be a simple stylistic choice, but part of what made me fall in love with this band was their lyrical content. To find that lost right out of the gate was both disappointing and worrisome. Thankfully, while this mixing style was a pattern, the themes of this record did shine through eventually.

A great example of a track that encapsulates everything that I could ever want out of this band is track five, “Colossal Wreck.” The lyricism in this piece was heart wrenchingly poignant. This song not only contains my favorite riff of the record, it also contains my favorite line of the project.

“I should have been baptized. death’s perfect shine is in my eyes.

now I’m just killing time until time decides I’ve had enough.”

This song was enough to cause me to forget my previous worries and give myself entirely to listening to this project. From this point onwards, the stylistic choices became a matter of taste rather than a point of judgment. This record is raw, it’s real, it’s powerful, and it’s out today.

Despite my initial skepticism, I will happily be purchasing my copy of this record to show my support to a band that never disappoints.

Radical by Every Time I Die is available everywhere now. Follow the band on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.