October 2000 - Every Time I Die and The Burial Plot Bidding War

A little after my last release a new band joins my library when Every Time I Die released their debut EP "The Burial Plot Bidding War" in October of 2000. But who is Every Time I Die? They are a five-piece metalcore band from Buffalo, New York consisting of drummer Mike Novak, bassist John McCarthy, guitarist Andrew Williams and brothers Jordan (guitar) and Keith (lead vocals) Buckley. Every Time I Die are another early metalcore band, but they aren't quite as heavy as say Killswitch Engage and instead play a more erratic and unpredictable style of heavy metal. Let's see what ETID is all about!

The EP kicks off with "The Emperor's New Clothes" and they kick right into a pretty heavy main riff with some nice chugging rhythm guitar by Williams, some nice higher lead guitar by Jordan and Keith screaming right from the get-go in a pretty high voice. Keith's high screams sound pretty shrill at times, but he's pouring out his emotion with every scream and I love his passion even if his voice is still pretty raw at this point. He occasionally hits us with a couple nice low screams, but stays high most of the time. Once they decide to speed things up the guitars are very fast and erratic and it's difficult to describe, but I like it a lot and it's plenty heavy. They slow it down again with a new closing riff that is actually quite catchy and has some pretty cool guitars. This was a pretty good intro into what ETID are all about, and while it's pretty raw and unpolished, I thought it was a good opener. Up next is "Your Touch Versus Death" and it's got a slow opening with people talking before they finally slam into some metal with some pretty fast guitars that sre all over the place and reminding me a bit of The Dillinger Escape Plan (which is definitely a good thing!) They really slow things down with a nice breakdown in the chorus and the contrast of super slow and super fast sounds really good. The slow part even stops entirely a couple times for dramatic effect, and it of course makes the faster part sound even heavier as it explodes from the silence. Once this one got going, it was pretty cool! Track 3 is "Prom Song" and it has an interesting opening with some quiet and trippy guitar and Keith just screaming overtop the quiet music. He sounds like he's giving it his all as always as he continues to belt out some nice screams and the music starts to pick up behind him until we've reached a nice headbanging riff with some more offbeat and erratic guitar. McCarthy plays some solid bass that shines through sometimes, and the rhythm guitar keeps the pace nicely while the lead guitar entertains with some pretty cool stuff. Again, very raw and unpolished sounding, but some more pretty interesting and unique metal. The next track is "Home Is Where You Hang Yourself" and words couldn't possibly describe all the super fast stuff they play on this one. The only time they let up is to briefly set the stage for a cool new riff, otherwise everyone is jamming out their absolute hardest with some speedy drums by Novak, plenty of fast and cool guitars and some relentless screaming by Keith. The first song is still probably my favourite off this EP, but this one was a close second! The final song on the EP is "Morphine Season" and Novak plays some super catchy drums to kick us off, then everyone else nicely comes in for a fast and heavy main riff with the same (great) formula of a chugging rhythm riff and some erratic, higher lead stuff. Keith sings for the first time on this song for a verse, and he actually sounds solid singing! It's only briefly though, then it's back to some nice high screaming. I love this new and interesting style of metal and these guys continue to play some great fast parts, then nicely break it down for some heavy and sweet slow parts. A fine finale to wrap things up.

That is the end of "The Burial Plot Bidding War" and I thought it was a pretty good debut EP by Every Time I Die! No one else quite sounds like these guys and I love their furious and heavy style that also has lots of slow breakdowns. I look forward to seeing where these guys go from this unpolished EP and their first full-length album!