### The Dead Lay Waiting: We rise

#### 14/09/09 || Habakuk

Judging from the picture these guys are about 12 years old and need to be picked up from the kids’ corner or they’ll start scaring the younger ones with Daddy’s mattock. They are signed on Rising Records for their debut album, and it is aptly called “We rise”! Get it? “Rise” as in “Rising”! Haw, haw, splendid.

The music they play is like As I Lay Dying. Quite surprising, looking at their band name. Now behold what they’ve been labeled somewhere on the Internet: “Modern Brutal Death Metal”. Right, and exploring the universe in my red space submarine I blast this shit on repeat 24/7.

This is paint-by-numbers melodic mallcore, including all the ingredients that make hair dye black and comb itself across the eyes instantly: A decent but lifeless production including a very very clinical drum sound and unnatural, abrupt sound cuts, guitars that sound pretty good, no bass*, and of course they have the same growls like the aforementioned band (”Luawuahwuaaah“), clean singing, and hardcore shouts. Haha. Now look at the picture again and you’ll know how the hardcore shouts sound. Oh, and gang vocals as in school gang vocals.

*While the bass itself can’t be heard, the bass player serves a purpose. Look at his stage name and use your imagination to find out. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of it left afterwards.

Overall, a lot of this stuff sounds pretty professional, but what they obviously don’t know is how lines like “It’s so unfair!!! It’s SO unfair!!! You’ve chosen him before me!!!” sound, no matter how many “brutal” backing vocal layers they employ together with the clean singing and no matter through how many oh-so-heavy breakdowns they chug: “Boo fucken HOO!”. Grab your skateboards and a sandwich, go outside and come back in 8 years. No wait. Don’t come back in 8 years.

This is well-executed for what it is: Brutal music for 12-year-olds, produced by 12-year-olds.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Rising Records
- Website: The Dead Lay Waiting MySpace
- Band
- James MacKellar-Still: vocals, guitars
- Luke Apocalypse: vocals
- Justin Wilkinson: guitars
- Azz Inferno: bass
- Tom Shimpton: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. This stuff
- 02. has obviously
- 03. been sent to us
- 04. so early
- 05. that the song names
- 06. weren’t even
- 07. released yet.
- 08. Or attached in a
- 09. .txt file.
- 10. Well done.