Common Dead – “Diatribe”

Common Dead is the brainchild of metal singer, songwriter and musician Andrew Laurenson. His newest release Diatribe is an interestingly eclectic metal album with a style that runs the gamut from death metal to groove, grind and even a bit of tech metal thrown in. It’s raw, it’s uncompromising, it’s in-your-face and most importantly it’s quite easy to get into. It has everything I think a metal record should have, massive grooves, absolutely crushing riffs and balls out vocals.

The first song, “Inviegh”, really sets the tone both musically and lyrically and paves the way for the rest of the disc. By far my favorite track is, “True Noir” – everything seems to come together perfectly with a result that is quite impressive to say the least.

My only issue with this disc is the production. It’s not bad by any means, but I think the overall project might be better served by a bigger, perhaps cleaner production. Bottom line though, Laurenson is definitely a riffmieister (there are some highly creative and original riffs here), and this disc is better than many of the other acts I’ve already heard this year.

Track Listing:

01. Inveigh
02. Critical Mass
03. Delegates
04. Recollect
05. True Noir
06. Sinister Veil
07. Wound
08. The Hearing
09. No Saint
10. Dusk To Dawn

Total Time 36:59
Release Date: February 21, 2012

Check out the song: “Critical Mass”