Death Before Dishonor is a five-piece hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. ‘Count Me In’ is the bands third studio album to date and was released through Bridge Nine Records, the label that the band has been signed to since 2004. In my opinion this is by far the best album that the band has ever written and most certainly comprises of some of the bands finest material to date. ‘Friends, Family, Forever’ preceded this album in 2005, ‘Count Me In’ is by far the better album however; a huge improvement from Death Before Dishonor and an album that has made me think a lot more of the band.
In the past I have never particularly appreciated the music of Death Before Dishonor. On previous releases the album tracks have all sounded the same to me, this is certainly not the case here however. With ‘Count Me In’ Death Before Dishonor prove to be an excellent hardcore band with this brutal attack of music. The album here has plenty to offer, the vocals are angry, aggressive and it’s all genuinely believable. You really feel like the music means something to this band when listening, it’s by no means perfect but is most certainly an excellent album. The guitars possess great energy, the vocal display is excellent, and the drumbeats come attacking through impressively.
Thirteen tracks complete this album; an intro, eleven standard tracks and one ‘hidden’ inclusion. The music here is all incredibly high quality, none of the tracks disappoint and always there is a terrific energy running through the heart of it all. Death Before Dishonor fire through all of these tracks with great vigour, not once does this band show any signs of slowing down and always the music comes hurtling at you full throttle. The sound is well put together, all elements of the music seem to be well thought out on each and every track and this album is therefore greatly enjoyable to listen to. One of the main reasons I had not been too impressed with previous albums from this band was that it all seemed a little too hurriedly put together and there was no real talent on display, no care seemed to have been taken in the construction of the songs but that has all changed here. The sound is well worked and at every moment on this album the band has plenty to offer.
Tracks such as ‘Take Me Away’, ‘Behind Your Eyes’, and title track ‘Count Me In’ stand out strongly here. Always the music is brutal, the sound produced by Death Before Dishonor on this album is extremely intense and the music is at all points greatly impressive. The hidden track provides quite a change in direction, mainly because it is in fact a cover of the classic Cock Sparrer track ‘England Belongs To Me’. It’s nowhere near as impressive as the original, it’s still quite an interesting track however and the decision here to rename it ‘Boston Belongs To Me’ is vaguely amusing. Cock Sparrer purists may not appreciate the track too much, I however see its inclusion as quite an excellent way to end this ‘Count Me In’ album. Death Before Dishonor growl through this cover, it’s a lot lighter than the rest of the album however and I feel that this track winds the album down nicely.
Death Before Dishonor is an excellent hardcore band, with this album the band has really impressed me and entirely changed my opinion of the music. What I once perceived to be a generic and creatively lacking band has here shown drastic signs of improvement and released an album that is packed full of excitement and truly fantastic musicianship. With the bands previous two albums never had I found the music particularly interesting at all, ‘Count Me In’ however is a hugely appealing album of hardcore brilliance. The album clocks in at just under half an hour in length, the tracks are short and always the music is packed full of a high level of excitement. Too many horribly creatively lacking bands are present in the hardcore scene of today, Death Before Dishonor is no longer one of them however and I personally would definitely recommend giving this ‘Count Me In’ album a listen if you happen to be a fan of the genre.
Label: Bridge Nine Records
Release Date: 22nd May 2007
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
