DYING GORGEOUS LIES – First World Breakdown
- Posted on 05-04-2015
Thrash will not die, given the number of veteran acts entering the charts and bands from all across the globes packing clubs, arenas, and festivals these days. German act Dying Gorgeous Lies on their second album "First World Breakdown" straddle the melodic thrash template, while vocalist Lisa ‘Liz Gorgeous’ Minet has a slightly raspy delivery that can be a clearer version of Sabrina from Holy Moses if taken through the James Hetfield school of fierceness.
Expect guitar workouts from Bernd Stübinger and Marcel Völkel that rival a lot of Bay Area greats like Metallica and Heathen, but not necessarily always going for the fastest parts- keeping things meaty, under control, and highly engaged on the hooks. The opening title track is interesting because of the large gang vocals during the chorus and the way Lisa mimics the drum hits during the bridge to add an extra rhythmic attack to the proceedings. Sometimes modern squeals or accents give "Wipe Out Yourselves" or the epic closer "United" food for thought, as I prefer when Dying Gorgeous Lies just sticks to thick power triplets and rhythms that require mandatory movement. At 40 minutes the band subscribe to a less is more outlook, and I think will improve their chances for overall listener retention.
There have been a number of European acts through the years that took a lot of the melodic/power aspects of thrash and made that their bread and butter template (Blackend and Reckless Tide are two that come to mind) – and I feel that "First World Breakdown" is another record in that genre. What does this mean for the fans? Well… there are a lot of people I believe who will like this type of change, and others who may think Dying Gorgeous Lies is not heavy or speedy for their tastes. In the end, the marriage of the old school melodic thrash and harsh vocals works adequately for me.