Every Time I Die – “Low Teens” [Album Review]

Every Time I Die’s latest release, Low Teens, brings the same southern hardcore we’ve come to expect and love from ETID, but with a touch darker lyrics and more polished sound than previous releases.

From the start, Low Teens pulls no punches, from the lurching intro to “Fear and Trembling” to the slamming, ballad-like vocals over drawn out riffs and cowbell in “Two Summers”. The first single off the album, “C++ (Love Will Get You Killed)”, is very reminiscent of the Ex-Lives sound, but with a little more urgency. There are all sorts of hidden gems in this album, like the surprise guest vocals from Brendon Urie (of Panic! At The Disco) in “It Remembers”. When I saw he was on the album (before listening), it seemed strange to me, but all my confusion vanished upon hearing how well his operatic vocals fit with the ETID sound (side note: apparently, Urie is a good friend of ETID, so it’s not as weird as it seemed—the more you know!).

The latter half of the recording seems to amp up the tempo, reminiscent of ETID’s older sound, but more polished and less chaotic than one might remember (think: the energy of Gutter Phenomenon with the polished aspects of Ex-Lives or From Parts Unknown). There’s great guitarwork throughout, particularly the solo in “The Coin Has A Say”, but by far the standout track on the album (for me, at least) was “Map Change”.

“Map Change” boasts some of the most nihilistic lyrics to date over a melodic masterpiece. Lines like “I am the man that sank Atlantis / The bottom is not the lowest we get / I thought I knew the best part of the secret: The truth is the thing we forget / The glory I had witnessed was just a sleight of hand / These hearts cannot be salvaged, these bones cannot withstand / I have either been forgotten or I was never seen / Now I’m in the negative space between” and “I’ve fallen out of frame /A strangled, distant flame / Clenched in the jaws of anguish are only godless men /Chaos is drawn to silence like life is drawn to death / The dusk is so much clearer than the dawn had ever been / I’m a ghost, and yet I’ve weighed down the earth / Through the stars to the pavement / I’ve weighed down the earth / No use trying to save it” bring the album to a brooding and melancholy close.”

All in all, Low Teens is a phenomenal release from ETID, perhaps even their best to date. If you’re looking for classic ETID, this album won’t disappoint, and it grows on you more and more with each spin. Definitely worth checking out!

Low Teens Track Listing:

01. Fear and Trembling (featuring Tim Singer)
02. Glitches
03. C++ (Love Will Get You Killed)
04. Two Summers
05. Awful Lot
06. I Didn’t Want to Join Your Stupid Cult Anyway
07. It Remembers (featuring Brendon Urie)
08. Petal
09. The Coin Has a Say
10. Religion of Speed
11. Just as Real but Not as Brightly Lit
12. 1977
13. Map Change
14. Skin Without Bones
15. Nothing Visible; Ocean Empty

Run Time: 49:28
Release Date: September 23, 2016

Check out the track “Map Change”