Dead Man In Reno - Dead Man In Reno
Candlelight
Melodic Metalcore
10 songs (43.30)
Release year: 2006
Dead Man In Reno, Candlelight
Reviewed by Aleksie
Dead Man In Reno – the name combined with the cover art of a silhouette dangling on the neck swing gave me mental images of some twisted, technical metal with lyrics bordering Hunter S. Thompsonesque weirdness. A look at the list of songs gave me a whole lotta different thoughts. She’s Tugging On My Heartstrings, Lovestainedrazorblades – could this mean anything else than horribly whining emo-chugging? Apparently, it can.

The static intro of To Attain Everything changes into a solid rhythm section beating it up and guitar melodies that are very In Flamesy, Colony era. Have we once again entered the zone of American metal where hard core is mashed with metallic Gothenburg and impressive solos? Pretty much, I’d say. DMIR leans slightly more into the ‘core side of things with their harsh breakdowns and the scream-filled output of singer Justin Sansom. It is very angry and fits the material well, but ultimately isn’t very distinguishable. I personally like that even the most brutal vocals make it possible for separate words to be heard. I didn’t expect that it would take it to the sixth song to get some boyish clean vocals, filled with giant emotions, of course. Not to sound smart-assed that is, the clean singing is skilled as well. Then again, the guitar melodies have a big role in the songs as well when they pop out, so someone might consider the metal side stronger on this record. Damn, I can't really make a cut. Listen and make the decision yourselves.

Monotony that isn’t saved with catchiness becomes the albums problem in the early goings. Every song pretty much follows the same patterns with aggressive, quality drumming and grinding riffage. As said before, nice guitar solos zing by every now and then. Given A Season Of Sun acts as a calm acoustic piece in the middle. Atmospherical melodies are injected in good spots to give some breathing space. The eight song, Cursed, puts the whole scope of the album into new form. The eight-minute epic begins with cool thrash-riffing that then morphs into a grand middle part complete with piano and flourishing string sections. The whole thing is closed with some slamming riffage. The song is awesome no doubt, but does not really fit the flow of the album. Basically it just makes every other song here pale in comparison – largely so.

The production is strong throughout the record and doesnt leave room for complaints. The whole package of Dead Man In Reno is technically very adept and contains some potent metalcore. For the undersigned it just doesn’t have a personality of its own to hold my interest for that long. I will however blast out Cursed every time this disc happens to end up in my hand.

Killing Songs :
Cursed
Aleksie quoted 69 / 100
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