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Dead Poetic - New Medicines

 

	RELEASED: April 6 2004 PRODUCER: Aron Sprinkle LABEL:Tooth & Nail BAND: Brandon Rike Zach Miles Chad Shellabarger Josh Shellabarger Todd Osborn
+ Thoughtful lyrics, Each song has own identity, Great vocal performance - Stupid hidden track, One step shy of writing great songs	TRACKS: 1.Taste The Red Hands 2.The Dream Club Murders 3.New Medicines 4.Vanus Empty 5.Bury The Difference 6. Molotov7.Glass In The Trees 8.Dimmer Light 9.Hostages 10.Modern Morbid Prophecies 11.A Hoax To Live For 12. Zonshine (Hidden)

 

OVERVIEW

Right from the high energy countoff of “Taste the Red Hands”, you know this isn’t the same Dead Poetic that brought you “Four Wall Blackmail”.  DP ditches most of their offbeat, hardcore-influence song structures of their freshman record for straight-ahead rock-based grooves, and 90% of the time it works like a charm.  Vocalist Brandon Rike steals the spotlight on this record; the man has a serious set of pipes somewhat similar to Blindside’s Christian Lindskog, and whether he’s belting out cathartic screaming like “Taste the Red Hands” or showing off his impressive clean range in melodic numbers like “Glass in the Trees” or “The Dream Club Murders”, nobody can deny that the man has more than his fair share of voice.  The rest of the band is no joke either, and while their music isn’t the most complex ever, they have their fair share of memorable and ear-catching riffs that make you rewind the disc, which is no small accomplishment in a genre mostly known for whining copycats wearing eyeliner and girl’s jeans.  Dead Poetic definitely has a modus operandi that becomes clear after the disc is about ¾’s over: throw catchy riffs, high energy, soaring vocals, a dash of screaming, and Jesse Sprinkle’s always-interesting drumming, mix, and repeat.  But if this stuff is your cup of tea, it’s 11 cups of pretty darn good tea.
            I should mention that it’s very possible New Medicines is not your cup of tea, especially if you’re one of those dudes that swears Metallica sold out when they cut their hair; for all the band’s declarations of rock, the fact is that this is modern screamo, although it may be better done than most. 

 

SONGS

The CD wastes no time with goofy instrumental openers – “New Medicines” kicks off in top form with “Taste the Red Hands”, a fantastic 1-2 punch of screaming and melodic stuff from Rike and the band.  “The Dream Club Murders” is slightly slower, a bit more emotional, but don’t miss the excellent chorus on this one.  The album loses a tiny bit of momentum with the title track, as it winds of being one of the less interesting cuts on the record, but fortunately “Vanus Empty” steps back in to mix things up with a somewhat bizarre combination of major-sounding chords and screamed vocals.  “Bury the Difference” kicks the album back into high gear and features one of the heaviest pre-choruses on the record, where you can hear a little bit of the band’s previous hardcore inclinations.  “Molotov” is one of my personal favorites, mostly cause of the tight groove and the great drumming, especially in the chorus.  Great lyrics on that one as well.  “Glass in the Trees” is this albums “Wanted Dead or Alive” or “Mama I’m Coming Home”; this is melodic, intense modern emo at it’s finest, folks.  “Dimmer Light” is pretty melancholy and honestly, pretty forgettable to me, but don’t flip the off button here – Dead Poetic comes back with “Hostages” and some more of their heavier riffing, which as far as I’m concerned is always welcome.  “Modern Morbid Prophecies” slows it up one more time before the album goes out swinging with “A Hoax to Live For”, which is a decent closer that basically sums up the whole album in a nutshell.  Overall, the pacing is great and certainly enough to hold your attention.

 

CONCLUSION

Not necessarily a genre-definer, but definitely a solid listen for fans of anyone from Emery to Life In Your Way.  I still find myself spinning it fairly regularly almost 3 years later.

 

Review by Matt Rewinski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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