Deep Enough to Die - My City of Ruin

So as more and more bands begin to curse and spit and more so, scream for the hell of it, there are bands like Deep Enough to Die who are re-planting the seeds of the genre.

I’ve finally discovered a hardcore band with elements of the style fitting in the most enjoyable and gratifying way. This is perfect timing because I had really lost a lot of hope for good hardcore music ever coming to the forefront again. I’ve become so sick of bands that incorporate loud metal riffs with obnoxious screaming in place of vocals. The roots of hardcore have been violently pulled out of the ground, leaving it sad and miserable, populated by kids with hair in their eyes that get on stage and scream away. That’s not the sort of hardcore music I can identify with.

However, Deep Enough to Die quickly helped me restore my faith and confidence in good old fashioned hardcore music. In a genre that is steadily dying, Deep Enough to Die are doing their best to help keep it alive and kicking. With a sound that reminds me of the early, pre-Drive-Thru Movielife, they have that same hard as nails approach minus the bounce.

This album contains ten songs and they rip through them in just less than thirty minutes. The music never lets up and you barely have enough time to catch your breath when listening to this album. Each song is not much different from the next, but that really doesn’t take anything away from Deep Enough to Die because each song doesn’t drag on and on. So the fact of the songs sounding somewhat similar doesn’t do any damage here.

The lyrics found on My City of Ruin are symbolic of the dismal nature of the title. There is a lot of pain and distress that is being expressed in a dramatic, poetic manner. The track, “For the Sky” displays this dark lyrical expression; “From the inspiration of a sunset / the scars left on my back / from falling two nights ago / death becomes of the loyal child / Your ivory skin lies on the concrete / shattered glass with a broken heart / there is no stopping this car / seatbelts off and your heading for the sky / the wrong decisions made contribute/ and we all die now with you”. These lyrics add a great dimension to this album and give it that exceptional sensation of realness and validity.

So as more and more bands begin to curse and spit and more so, scream for the hell of it, there are bands like Deep Enough to Die who are re-planting the seeds of the genre. With the proper direction and dedication, it is safe to say and comforting to know, that hardcore music will be able to re-grow in the future with the help of bands like this.

(Dressed to Kill Records)