Death of Me - ‘Hell’s Where You Make It, Love’s How You Fake It’ review
Death of Me
Stoke-on-Trent seems to be churning out new talent. In the last year alone, I’d recently discovered Black Coast and Head Dent also from that neck of the woods. Now Death of Me graces us with the debut effort, Hell’s Where You Make It, Love’s How You Fake It. This EP emerged from the depths of the pottery city on Sept 8th, here’s what we thought:
Hell’s Where You Make It, Love’s How You Fake It cover art
An opening instrumental is always welcome,‘Yearn (An Introduction)’ seems very apt. It piqued my curiosity but also the composition did register a little anxiety, hitting the ears like Resident Evil meets ‘In The End’ by Linkin Park. Things then explode into the first track, ‘Halo’, which the band dropped two months ago. Pacing-wise it seems to start us at the climax of something, with 'Halo' being a very strong number. It was also hard to shake how destined for an anime introduction this song seemed. This is a very emotive way to open the EP, and it worked, “Words get me weak” indeed.
'Cry' carries on the emotional rollercoaster the band promised us. This had a strange feeling throughout, as it was almost boyband-eqsue. Producer Sam Bloor brings out artists best, having worked with Black Coast and Graphic Nature (Personal favourite). This is no exception. At times 'Cry' feels like more than only four people in the band, it is a very layered track. One could argue this could have gone heavier at any moment, but it didn't need to. 'True Blue' that follows delivers the heavier sound I expected in the previous song with a lot of pomp. Mike Foxall's guitar is especially satisfying, feeling like the star of the track despite Jim Carter's excellent vocals. Of everything on the EP, this feels like the track.
There's a moment to breathe with another instrumental, 'Lueur d'espoir (An Interlude)'. Translating to "glimmer of hope", again the pacing of this was excellent. The band promised a melting pot of genres in the run-up to the EP, including 80's synth rock. You can definitely hear that in this, and there's more to come. 'Your heart, the casket' spotlights Jim Carter's double duty on keys and vocals more than anything else on this release. The band dropped this back in March and it's proved popular. Splice that with the mastering done by Grant Berry, who boasts a catalogue of work with emo legends like All Time Low, PVRIS & Deaf Havana. There are so few ways Death of Me can tread wrong, they sound in the same league as the three bands I listed with this track.
The final two tracks 'The long lost art to never falling apart' and 'Choice words and cursive' turn the last moments of this EP into an emotional sprint. These two tunes do feel like the sum of the band's influences (I did find myself wanting to follow "I was only your heart" with Avenged Sevenfold's "at least for the most part"). 'The long lost art' does feel like a quintessential emo track, but with a little more to it in weight as Rob Barnes puts an absolute shift in on drums. The one astounding thing really is that it is a debut effort that has all these songs of commendable quality at least. This band has a lot in front of them. 'Choice words' would be the spotlight track, were it not for 'True Blue'. Opening track ‘Halo’ had the lyric "Maybe the worst is to come”, it definitely seems to be the opposite for Death of Me
Hell’s Where You Make It, Love’s How You Fake It from Death of Me is out now on streaming platforms and on their website. Catch them on tour this November with Weller and FOXHAUNT.
