Wake The Dead – Still Burning LP (Various Labels)

Wake The Dead is a modern hardcore group hailing from Marseille, France. The band is widely known because of their working ethic, constant touring, and very impressive discography that includes releases such as The Things We Can’t Forget, Meaningless Expectations EP, and Under The Mask. These experienced musicians are presenting another excellent record comprising eight melodic hardcore hits that could easily pair to even bigger names in the genre. Still Burning blasts with remorseless energy, which has been saturated with multiple sonic wonderments, mainly composed of thoughtful arrangements and exceptional musicianship. The group solely relies on compelling guitar shreddings, which have been precisely submerged under magnificent melodic sequences. Both guitar channels have been equally polarized, so every notable sonic implementation is more than hearable throughout the entire album. These guitar dualities certainly create such an energetic atmosphere, but they also provide a lot of opportunities for various low-end maneuvers, performed through a high variety of catchy basslines. Nothing would sound so compact without vigorous drumming performance, which certainly delivers another perspective on the entire record. The vocals are enhancing the overall listening experience with gracious servings of ferocious screams. This particular singing technic plays the main role and acts as a centerpiece among presented instrumentations. Each composition has been thoughtfully arranged according to some modern hardcore standards. Wake The Dead possesses all the qualities of the contemporaries on the current worldwide hardcore punk scene, but I find their ideas more interesting, mainly because of their abilities to compose catchy melodic hardcore songs that burst with lots of dynamics without losing elements of greatness along the way. Still Burning comes with an astonishing artwork of lionesses biting the giant griffin, while the flames are approaching from all the sides. This piece of art itself is such an awesome addition to a brilliant recording that will certainly place this great French hardcore punk band to the top. Still Burning has been published on a standard black vinyl record and compact disc housed in a jewel case. The record has been published in a collaboration between Shield Recordings, Eternalis Records, We Are Sharks Records, Sleepy Dog Records, Burdigala Records, and Asso Page Blanche Records. Grab your weapon of choice and enjoy some quality melodic hardcore punk.