Status: Single
City: Muskegon
State: Michigan
Country: US
Signup Date: 3/7/2005
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009
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Current mood:  high Category: Music
Well we sent out the new album to the masses for review and a few people gave a shit and told us what they thought. It seems the overall outlook is good, but there are some that don't like certain things and then there are those that seem to be on the IHDHD train. A majority of the reviews we have gotten so far are below and we would like to thank everyone that gave it a listen. The guys over at Mouth For War.net seemed to really give it a full honest listen. It is the final review below. If you see something that moves you enough to respond check out the links below each review and let that site and their people know your feelings for IHDHD. More news and reviews coming soon. If you happen to stubble across a review of IHDHD that you don't see listed below please message us and let us know, so we can get it posted right away.
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E-Metal Space - Issue #6 - www.myspace.com/emetalreviews2
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By Typhon - Published March 17th, 2009
Right off the bat If He Dies He Dies' "The Rise... The Fall" grabs you by the throat with it's violently choppy beats, bloody roars of vengeance and surprisingly funky bass lines and refuses to let go! Apparently named after a famous line mumbled by Dolph “The Dude” Lundgren in Rocky IV, If He Dies He Dies blend the sludgy bits of Crowbar with the stoner grabbing appeal of High On Fire and a slight acid trip gone wrong feel of Electric Wizard to bring you approximately forty-five minutes of thought provoking metal! None of the songs sound forced so you won’t find anything even remotely resembling filler or fluff. Even the some what long sessions of feedback sound like they have some sort of meaning. “The Rise... The Fall” is If He Dies He Dies third album (I have never heard the first two, but I have a feeling that I’ll be checking them out sometime in the near future) and I think that their music will continue to climb upwards in regards to integrity and enjoyment! If you haven’t heard of If He Dies He Dies yet, you will soon. I guarantee it!
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=401774438&blogId=477250456
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www.corazine.com
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By Upchuck Undergrind - January 2009
It's a curious blend, indeed. The skin of melodic metal wrapped around the brute sinews of hardcore and shreds of extreme metal, tempered by doses of a mondo-hard super soldier of modern rock, thick and brawny minor prog inclinations and so-heavy-it's-heavy density a la stoner core (think Mastodon only not). Whew! And I still feel like I've only talked around what this is. Which is loud, crunchy, tough, rambunctious, surging and [insert synonym for heavy], all while showing some signs of artistry drug through the mud by galloping, pissed-off steeds.
http://www.corazine.com/articles/i/if-he-dies-he-dies/reviews/the-rise--the-fall.aspx------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.hellridemusic.com
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By Jay Snyder - January 29th, 2009
So, I finally get to hear some If He Dies, He Dies after knowing of their existence for at least a year or two. I’ve seen the name mentioned in a few thank you lists in album liner notes, knew they were making an appearance on the much lauded Eyehategod tribute album, but despite all of my awareness an actual audio encounter never happened. Nice of the band to look me up to do the review honors on their 3rd and latest record, The Rise…The Fall.
Apparently the quartet has been building quite a rep, touring with noteworthy heavies Eyehategod, Arson Anthem and Pig Destroyer. EHG mouthpiece, Mike Williams even makes an appearance on one of the tracks, stuffing another valuable piece of street cred into their collective pockets.
If the band has anything going for them it’s variety. Packing thrashing metal, doom-minded groove, epic post-rock expanse and a hardcore punch into the same melting pot is a risky gambit. While it doesn’t always work out the way it should, they are still hitting far more than they are missing.
“Heroine” gets us started off on the right foot. Hurtling a wall of galloping, churning metal at the listener straight out of the starting gate was a wise decision. You can tell we are dealing with well-seasoned players the way this monster unfolds its master plan to the world. Beginning fast with twin axes chopping through a forest of lively basslines and scattershot drumming; IHDHD get to the point quickly. Peppering the mix is a host of deftly delivered solos, hard-edge riffs and superior tempo shake-ups. Hell, they even scale down their thrash to a boorish crawl which eventually sees solid clean vocals spicing up the gauntlet of screams and sneers that dominated the early goings of the track.
With knife firmly held between teeth, the band shows they aren’t a one note joke with “Clarity”. I’m hearing Helmet, Mastodon, High on Fire and Baroness’s The Red Album all told in this chameleon-like composition. The opening riffs strike right for the heart bolstered by a doom-y, staccato groove bringing to mind a Matt Pike fronted incarnation of Helmet. Adhering to the album’s title, the song rises and falls throughout with subtle, dual guitar melodies delving into the cosmic mysteries adding a deeper layer to their metallic kick in the ass. All of this set-up climaxes with a godly doom/thrash groove at the 1:40 mark. Not kidding when I say this section almost threw me out of my seat. Everything is perfectly nailed into place with the combination of searing screams and the Kirk Windstein school of growled singing.
Unfortunately, all of the record’s initial momentum is usurped by “Destroyer”; a neo-thrash, breakdown basher that is DOA after the first couple seconds. A few bursts of gritty, death metal string shredding and drawn out soloing doesn’t shake away the stale feeling of beatdown pits and ninja-kicking nonsense.
At this point the feeling of worry started seeping in. I had seen Lamb of God amongst a list of other, much better bands on the bio sheet and wondered if the rest of the album would indulge in such monotonous ventures. Soldiering on to “…Like a Man Possessed”, my worries began to subside. Here we find a comfortable bed of richly sprawling post-doom to rest our weary bones upon. There’s a lot of harmonizing in this one, sometimes all three stringed instruments get in on the action. Double-barrel guitars weave in and out of the fluid rhythmic swirl, belaboring over a weighted pace that nods directly to Crowbar towards the end (especially in the strained vocals but additionally in the lumbering, downtrodden groove). It’s one of the most well realized tracks on the album and flirts with a Crowbar meets Baroness tendency which is a continued fascination of the band that rears its head even more frequently on the album’s shaky second half.
Catapulting their metal aspects to the forefront, sister songs “Storm…” and “…bringer” are somehow polar opposites. The former is a thrash-y, technically profound shred complex that owes debt to Mastodon due to the surplus of high-register, proggy licks and note arrangements while the latter is a festering, compost heap of doom lurking somewhere in the realm of Crowbar, EHG and all of the other NOLA legends given a bold-faced double shot of authenticity by Mike Williams’ cryptic, closing rant.
The horrendously dubbed, “(Save Your) Savior” follows suite and while intently laden with beautifully lush clean instrumentation, there’s no denying that this song sounds reel to reel like several songs off the latest Baroness album. While that album eventually grew on me and it took some work at that, this is just a bit too close for my tastes. They even went the same route on the singing by backing the growls with ear-friendly crooning. Sure, there’s a level of charm but it’s almost a carbon-copy; solos and all. It’s fucking depressing when the only thing remotely different is the fumbling, chugga chugga train metal at the end.
You can pass me the cyanide bottle when the hardcore reek stinks up its successor “Paralysis”; where hinted at potential and occasionally commanding riffs die hard in the hands of this week’s flavor of the month bruisecore brawlers. Don’t get me wrong, this kind of riffing CAN work but it falls flat here. Frustrating me even more is that they waste a deliciously devilish solo near the finale by descending into the same muck yet again.
Luckily, the album refuses to go down easy and fall off the deep end. “Feels like the First Time” and the fucking epic “Baptism by Fire” have the burden carrying trudge of Crowbar’s finest work on tap with just enough of IHDHD's own personality threaded into the tapestry, sending us on our way with a knockout finish; cleansing mind and body of the mid-album slump.
My advice to the band is to drop the hardcore fisticuffs. The muddled breakdowns sap a great deal of their other strengths. Sometimes it sounds as if they just wanted to have something for the pit goers to go batshit over. With that said, several of these songs are nothing short of fantastic. They’ve got the ability to summon thrash, doom, post-rock and Crowbar’s world weary thunder to killer and varied results. What a damn shame that clunkers like “Destroyer”, “(Save Your) Savior” and “Paralysis” square off against red-blooded titans “Heroine”, “Clarity”, “Feels like the First Time” and “Baptism by Fire”. If you trim the fat, this is a superb EP. Even with the unsavory lard you still get a tight LP, worth-checking out for fans of Crowbar, Baroness, High on Fire and Mastodon. I’ll be interested in exploring the back catalog but with ready hands on the skip button, to get myself out of any possible dicey spots.
http://www.hellridemusic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19289 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------www.metalbite.comIf He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By JD - March 18th, 2009
I love metal in all of its devious forms, and my philosophy has always been to give a chance to any metal at any time. Saying that, here we go... The buzz surrounding this brutal band from Michigan called If He Dies He Dies deemed that I at least give them a fair shake and listen with my mind clear.
At the outset, they seem to be in the vein of bands like Crowbar, Mastodon and High On Fire, it is these influences that certainly develop this bands brutal assault. Pissed off is a light way of describing how If He Dies He Dies sounds, as the are as good as they are sounding mad at the world. It is clear to who they are, not to mention that they are intelligent as hell as well.
Tracks like 'Heroine', 'Destroyer' and 'A Man Possessed' holds both a great amount of complexity and also pummels you with sheer barbarity in the way they lash out at you both in lyrics and music. They remind me a little of Corrosion Of Conformity at times... and even has some melodic leanings towards the mighty Iron Maiden as well. They blend it all together into their amazing power of what it all is.
They are a band, that clearly makes sure that their lyrics are as good as the music that accompanies it. Truly, this is a band worth watching out for in the near future... because this is a band that is on the verge of metal overlord status. They have to make that next step in their evolution, metal heads for now need to hear them.
Categorical Rating Breakdown
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7
Rating: 6.7 out of 10
User rating: 7.3 out of 10
http://www.metalbite.com/tracks.asp?album=8080
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www.metaleater.com
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By Don Rottenbucher - March, 2009
Not much for metalheads seems to come from Michigan. KID ROCK, INSANE CLOWN POSSE and EMINEM hold the current key to the musical exports, so the fact that IF HE DIES HE DIES comes from the western side is a great surprise. Sure, ALICE COOPER was born in Detroit, but with "The Rise...The Fall", IF HE DIES HE DIES has become the new pride of Michigan's Metal scene.
Heavier than heavy, IF HE DIES HE DIES unleashes a dense and deadly slab of sludge-friendly, eardrum eroding riffs. Opening like the maw of a monster, "Heroine" snarls and surges out of the speakers. Take one part CROWBAR, one part EYEHATEGOD, a dash of UNSANE and a spoonful of the best aspects of Hardcore and Stoner Rock and you have this band's formula. "Clarity" softens things up a bit before the pulsating "Destroyer" and melancholic melody of "...Like A Man Possessed" start to really show what this band is capable of. "Storm..." somehow successfully fuses NWOBHM melody with crushing riffs and "...Bringer" channels some ST. VITUS-styled Doom. Turning the CD on its head, "(Save Your) Savior" features some surprising and excellent Progressive and Jazzy elements that simply astonish before the songs leaps to furious form.
"Feels Like The First Time" continues to develop the melancholic melody and increase the density of the riffs. Perhaps the most epic song on the disc, this track nicely sums up the previous eight songs but unfortunately loses focus towards the end by relying on a tired and mainstream Metalcore approach. Closing with the Alternative Rock-friendly opening, "Baptism By Fire" nicely morphs into a crushing Doom-drenched, emotionally-charged masterpiece.
At times the raspy vocals get annoying, but there are some great guttural growls to break up the monotony. Guitarists (and vocalists) Brent Eckhardt and Tom Eilers are a great pairing that deliver godly riffs and inspired solos. Drummer Daine Hammerle delivers an impressive and sometimes schizophrenic performance, while bassist Ephraim Rosalez commands the bottom end. Couple this with marvelous production, and "The Rise...The Fall" is nearly a flawless offering of spectacularly heavy, moody and molten Metal that isn't afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve. IF HE DIES HE DIES easily proves to be a class act and this album is recommend to the fans of Stoner and Sludge Metal.
Overall score = B+
http://www.metaleater.com/albumreviews-ifhedieshedies2008.php
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www.teethofthedivine.com
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By Erik Thomas - February 19th , 2009
So if you took the angular, earthy percussive assault of Kylesa or Leviathan era Mastodon, threw in the stoner heft of High On Fire, the sorrowful dirges of Crowbar and a very slight hint of psychedelic doom like Rwake, Minsk or Samothrace then name the band after Ivan Drago’s famous line from Rocky IV, you get Michigan’s If He Dies, He Dies and their very impressive third album, an album which will make me seek out the prior two releases.
Mastered by Scott Hull, The Rise…The Fall is 10 tracks of earthy, riff driven metal than crosses an number of genres from stoner doom, prog rock, Southern tinged sludge, traditional doom and post rock. However, it all comes together to form one excellent album and surely bring the band some well deserved attention.
With Brent Eckhart’s gravelly, gruff voice and drummer Daine Hammerle’s choppy but steady backbone, The Rise … The Fall has no weak points or filler as if shifts from rollicking, sturdy, lurching numbers like “Heroine”, “Destroyer”, “Paralysis” and “Storm…” to more draining, doomy textures as heard on “…Bringer”, “…Like a Man Possessed”, and personal favorite, the rending “Feels Like the Very First Time”. Heck, there’s even some elegant swirling instrumentation and post rock shimmer on “Save Your (Savior)” and 7 ½ minute closer “Baptism By Fire”.
The end result is 44 minutes of perfectly paced and delivered music that keeps your attention from start to finish as the various hues and textures intertwine, separate and rejoin within the crumbling, doomy framework of sludge metal’s nervous ear and post rocks introspection.
Excellent stuff.
http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/if-he-dies-he-dies-the-risethe-fall/
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www.mouthforwar.net
If He Dies He Dies – The Rise…The Fall (Friction Records - 2008)
By mouthforwar.net - January, 2009
The Rise… The Fall, the third full-length from Michigan’s If He Dies He Dies, is my first opportunity to experience this band. These guys have plenty of street cred having toured with the likes of EyeHateGod and Pig Destroyer — hell, Mike IX Williams even contributes guest vocals to one track. Musically, you’re hit with a thick blend of thrash, progressive elements, crusty doom and even a little modern rock all wrapped up in a slick mastering from Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer).
Through the first six tracks on the disc, IHDHD hurl their entire gauntlet at your skull, laying down thick rhythms, varied guitars and a decent vocal performance. The guitar work ranges from crusty doom inspired riffing to slick, modern rock vibe smoothly. Vocalist Brent Eckhardt has some decent chops, varying is range from raw screams, deeper growls and some bluesy rock crooning.
Heroine
“Heroine” starts off the album with some massive riffing and a big scream. The pace is spot on for getting the blood flowing immediately. This one is catchy as hell and definitely gets your attention from the start. There’s some nicely layered, guttural growls to add some depth to the song. The guitars after the 2:20 mark are pretty slick.
Clarity
This next song keeps the momentum chugging along with some decent riffing and heavy drum work. The guitars have a similar sound to the previous track so the two blend together nicely. The vocals are pretty raw for the most part but take on a hardcore shout tone during a few lines — adds nice variety to the delivery. The drumming is all over the place on this song, in a good way.
Destroyer
“Destroyer” starts off with an almost breakdown like series of riffs and beefy rhythms before a quick shout comes in and the pace increases to a gallop. This one definitely has a hardcore/metalcore feel to it that sort of takes away from the doomy feel of the previous tracks. That said, I am digging the thrash influence on portions of this song.
…Like a Man Possessed
This next one starts off rather slowly with plodding riffs and spoken vocals for the first 15 or so seconds before the shouting starts. The drumming is pretty creative during this time and picks up the pace as the guitars build and swell. Overall the track has a darker feel to it, but isn’t quite as sludgy or doomy as previous songs.
Storm…
The first half of this two track song starts of with some great guitar work as it gets down to a pummeling start. There’s definitely a decent helping of thrash and progressive thrown into the sludgy mix on this one. Even through the spastic drum work, there’s a thick groove that’s damned infectious.
…bringer
The second track to this series features EyeHateGod’s Mike IX Williams on guest vocals. “…bringer” has a decidedly different feel to it as is fades in from the previous tracks reverb. Thick bass sits in the background like a brooding silverback gorilla as heavy, doomy riffs plod along at the pace of a funeral dirge. This song is much slower paced, much darker and pretty badass, to put it simply.
(Save Your) Savior
I’m not really a big fan of this one. The chorus is catchy, but sort of predictable. It could also be the heavier progressive influence on the track — I’m not sure. It does have its merit, however, as the track showcases the band’s versatility as musicians.
Paralysis
“Paralysis” also contains some progressive elements, but it’s more subtle and mixed into churning riffs and manic rhythms. The guitars take on a pretty evil feel as the vocals dip into the deeper end of Eckhardt’s range. The tempo shifts throughout this track do a decent job of keeping you on your toes, as well. I do love the vibe to the lead at the four minute mark, especially with the drum work in the background.
Feels Like the First Time
Some bass notes and big hit from the guitars starts off this next one before the group settle into a series of memorable riffing and drums. This track builds and builds upon itself until the climax around the 3:20 mark, at which time the melodic riffs come back in and the song fades.
Baptism by Fire
The final track starts off with light guitar work that, oddly enough, reminded me of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” — which is weird because it really doesn’t sound anything like it. The lighter guitar work builds till just after some softly sung vocals. The track really gets going just after the two minute mark with an increased vocal growl, bigger riffs and heavy drum work.
After not really expecting much from the album (I have no idea why), I was pleasantly surprised with IHDHD effort on their latest album. The Rise… The Fall has lots going on that should prove to satiate just about any metal fan. While it’s not a perfect record by any means, it’s still fun as hell to listen to and offers an opportunity for something a little bit different, while not going too far out there.
http://www.mouthforwar.net/index.php/2009/02/if-he-dies-he-dies-the-rise-the-fall/
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Thank you everyone for the contiuned support and look to see IHDHD tear it up this summer. The Struggle Continues - IF HE DIES HE DIES
6:12 AM
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