Therefore I Am - "The Sound of Human Lives"

Therefore I Am are a breath of fresh air with a sound that hearkens back to the D.I.Y. days of hardcore on their debut full-length, The Sound of Human Lives, mixing post-hardcore elements with melodic outbursts with sung/shouted vocals.

On the opening track, "Death By Fire", the spoken word sample that leads into gang vocals, shouting, "Wake up!" recalls old-school hardcore and includes some great Snapcase-like guitar hysteria. The fiery "Eleven, Seventeen" features a melodic and passionate fist-in-the-air chorus, turning the song into one of the catchiest on the album. "Splinters" opens with a half-time beat and more melodic vocal trade-offs. Lyrically, "My Father, The Fatalist" is more introspective and personal and has the album's best breakdown at the end of the song. As a change of pace, "For The Sake of Skin" starts off with some interesting programming and guitar work, flirting with radio-friendliness with a huge chorus before launching into an equally huge breakdown. The album is split by the instrumental title track, "The Sound Of Human Lives" which captures the essence of the band and conveys the pain and suffering of the human condition, all in three and a half minutes! The anger-fueled break-up song, "I Am Only An Island" explodes with fury as the most aggressive and brutal song on the album. "No Face In The Crowd" and its sweeping guitars and haunting programming combined with the chant along passages, makes this song a sure fire live staple. Album closer, "You Leave" is a little more experimental with impressive vocal harmonies and feedback-drenched guitars.

Accessible enough for the "Hot Topic" crowd yet still raw enough for more "hard-core" hardcore fans, Therefore I Am have created an album both melodic and menacing, and should gain them the attention they deserve. Check them out on the Warped Tour this Summer!

Download "Splinters" here: http://media.equalvision.com/evr156/audio/splinters.mp3

To order their album and get more info click here: http://www.equalvision.com/