Review Summary: It is perfectly alright to accept and overcome death.
A person's time spent alive are bookended by two natural forces of awe and fear. At one end of the spectrum, life and every waking moment. The other end is death and the haunting unknown that lies within that realm. When Life Comes To Death is an eleven track album that skirts the gray area, trying to win the war of life while being enchanted by the thought of not living anymore. Young And In The Way (YAITW) have brought this concept to life with this cataclysmic record.
This entire album feels like a thanatological war. It can be felt with every track, as if listening to the record is an attempt to bring a fight to the idea of death. This unleashes each track into a darkness, encompassed by a horrid yet beautiful ether. The trick of bringing this atmosphere to life is the combination of fire-fuled instruments and the exasperated tone of each scream let out by the vocalist. He vomits forth everything on his mind, leaving no realm of life or death untouched by his howls. These vocals are backed up by a furious black metal band with punk/hardcore influences. YAITW focus their approach with breakneck paced drums and vicious guitars. 'Be My Blood' kicks its way into the album with unbelievable blastbeats breaking through the heavy mix of guitars.
Opening track 'Betrayed By Light' calls for the war to begin, pressing the buttons of sorrow with a ghastly piano section complimenting the devastating first half of the track. These ominous instrumentals are moments of silence on the battlefield. Take a listen to 'Self Inflicted' and feel the eerie goosebumps race across your skin when the song unexpectedly cuts out to a daunting clean section. 'Final Dose' is the definition of an explosion as the track never gives any room for a breath between each guitar note and blastbeat. 'Take My Hand' is a melodic pause, focusing instead on attacking the oppressors with an emotional bridge lead as the vocalist trembles belting out "Just leave, please go, take my life and feel nothing. Watch me fall inside nothing." After this ardent incident, 'Shadow Of Murder' takes the fight to a beautiful string section, limped along by an acoustic guitar. The overwhelming darkness may have been lifted with this lighter track.
But it is not gone forever. Closing track 'Embrace Extinction' sets the war back in motion with a distorted black metal ttune full of oppression and eerie melodies. Halfway through the song the drums call out for the final clash, pounding and rolling their way into the destructive breakdown. The war ends as the vocalist realizes his death and lets the ambience of drones fill the void of what was a teeth-baring black metal album. Young And In The Way have released not just an album, but an entire battlefield of music that approaches each track with a different attack from the musicians. When Life Comes To Death is a crusted black metal record infused with tremendous hardcore punk influences. It keeps its momentum throughout all eleven tracks, including a beautiful back half lead by the ever ominous overtones surrounding the heaviness.
