Every Time I Die – Ex Lives (Epitaph)

by Deborah Draisin

The first time I saw ETID live, they were actually opening for Underoath – a band with a very solid live reputation. “The Big Dirty” had just dropped, so the band had a good reason for finding themselves amongst a lineup of otherwise God-fearing Christians, despite their notorious religion-baiting lyrics.

To say that ETID blew the headliners off the stage (and probably everyone else within a hundred mile radius) would be an understatement. That band almost literally blew the doors of the joint, and they haven’t let me down since.

ETID has a satisfying body of work, but you really have to see these songs played live in order to fully appreciate their impact. That being said, the second that I watched their video for the single, “Revival Mode” off their about-to-drop latest effort, Ex Lives, I couldn’t fucking wait to hear the rest of the tracks. Their videos tend to be performance-based (and for obvious reasons,) but this one tells a story. Keith (Buckley, vocalist extraordinaire) is being pursued by what we can only presume to be gangsters and although he definitely looks guilty of something, you can’t help but feel bad for the guy as he genuinely keeps trying to help an unresponsive physically challenged man who, in the end, appears to have been a ruse.

Although Keith generally intersperses his epic screams with some melodies, for some reason, it’s always jarring when it happens, and Ex Lives features a couple of cuts during which it makes an appearance, “Revival Mode” being one of them and the ending track, “Indian Giver” being another.

The album opens with the refrain “I want to be dead with my friends” – an instant attention-getter. In fact, the cd is tracked quite brilliantly. The flow from song to song is both cohesive and flawless. The theme would appear to be a man embittered by the betrayal that was his religion and the loss of love, having plummeted in alcoholism and depression. Lines such as “How could a man I’ve never met be so cruel to me?” (off “Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow”) is a relatable lament, especially in this day and age.

The album artwork features cops in riot gear and a man being held down and (presumably) about to be beaten into submission. There are no thank you’s whatsoever in the liner notes, but credit is given to Dostoyevsky, Keats and Baraka for their lines in the songs (“A Wild, Shameless Plain” features the line “A dull catalogue of common things,” from the poem, “Lamia,” for instance.)

Ex Lives is definitely a quality product. Fast, melodic, and just the right amount of mysterious, it is the quintessential ETID album as it effortlessly genre-hops and leaves the listener guessing as they tap their fingers and bob their heads. If you don’t pick this one up, you’re sorely missing out. This is without a doubt going to be one of the better releases of 2012.

Check them out at everytimeidie.net

###