Band: Death Before Dishonor
Album: Count Me In
Genre: Hardcore
Label: Bridge Nine

Tracks:
1. Intro
2. Count Me In
3. Nowhere To Turn
4. Break Through It All
5. Curl Up and Die
6. Behind Your Eyes
7. **** It All
8. See It Through
9. Nothing But Agony
10. Infected
11. Take Me Away
12. Still Standing
13. Boston Belongs To Me

Oh Boston, you now just how to swoon me. As I’ve mentioned before, hardcore from this city has a soft spot in my heart and one of the legends in this area would be none other than Death Before Dishonor. Now, this album, Count Me In, has been out for a bit now, but regardless, it deserves more press time. Bridge Nine Records have been more than consistent on the hardcore front and for proof that real, honest, pure hardcore still exists, look no further than this album right here.

Count Me In begins, fittingly enough, with, “Intro,” a slow building call to arms for the band. No need for words with these dissonant tones and driving drum beat. You know that feel right before something crazy happens? The moment when you’re both full of excitement and anxiety? This is the effect this track meets. It leads directly into, “Count Me In,” which comes out swinging like a fighter on the loose. The lines, “I came to fight/I came to win,” come out as the bands battle cry and the gang vocals on the track title are just epic. If you close your eyes, I promise you’ll see a swirling pit of sweaty youth venting there rage and coming together in angst. though, if that track doesn’t get you moving, “Nowhere to Turn,” will swing in to take another shot at making your heart race. The guitar work is slick and quick while the drums continue the pulsing one-two count they showed on the previous track. The breakdown, found near the end [of course] has a bass line so thick you’ll have to eat it with a spoon, but trust me, you’ll enjoy every single bite. With almost time allowed for you to catch your breath, “Break Through It All,” comes burning out of the disc with a more laid back, bass line heavy riff that really gets you more into the groove of the disc. Where the other songs where fast and destructive, this is more technical and driving. It’s a bit off putting at first, but really comes out well in the end.

For the fifth track, “Curl Up and Die,” the bass line once again delivers like only DBD can offer. The track has this pulsing tom drum section that just syncs up with your heart and doesn’t let you go. Also, for those of you like me who enjoy gang vocals, this is your chance to simply go nuts. The craziness then continues once again on the raging, “Behind Your Eyes.” The only problem is that at this point we’ve heard most of the techniques used hear at least twice and the song feels a bit repetitive. I mean, we’re only halfway through and we’re feeling deja vu…that’s not a good sign. This all too common sound seems to continue on, “F*** It All,” but one exception being the break just before the verse which matches the bass with the drums so perfectly that you have to tune in for one more round. Also, the gag vocals on the title of the song is sure to be a hit with the angst laced youth of America [and the world]. Now, though the pulsing drum lines continues on, “See It Through,” there’s something in the guitar work that makes everything fresh once again. This is a more driving song that just so happens to feature screaming. I mean, a mainstream band could use most the sounds here and never use gang vocals or screams, but Death Before Dishonor simply engulfs the song in rich Massachusetts hardcore and it doesn’t let up. Especially on the breakdown. I mean, generally, you get a four count into open chugging, but DBD keeps you hanging on the count in and then doesn’t chug, but changes the riff enough to make you realign your two step before continuing to lose you mind.

“Nothing But Agony,” is mainly remarkable due to the band’s technical display. There’s so much accent use, as well as time changes that you simply can’t deny the amount of solid effort that had to be put out to design this track. However, this holds nothing to the earth shaker that is, “Infected.” Oh my good lord, this is the kind of track that takes you by the collar, rip out your heart and holds it pulsing up to your face and makes you fight to get it back. Everything has this feeling of the first time you ever heard a hardcore band, but with more skill than the first hardcore band you probably heard. Normally, an track following one of this magnitude would fall short, but “Take Me Away” comes prepared with a guitar solo as well as an undeniable bass line. It’s one of the shortest tracks on the album, but that will never even faze you as it fits perfectly as a lead up to the original closer, “Still Standing.” For a closer, this wraps everything up in one single track displaying the best elements of the album. Unfortunately, the album has done quite a bit of repetition already and this causes the track, though well constructed, to fall just a bit short of what I was hoping to hear. However, thank to the hidden bonus track, “Boston Belongs To Me,” DBD are aloud one more chance to amaze us…and they do so with flying colors. This track features actual singing while maintain a very punk feel. This is the song I picture people singing at the very end of the band’s set, after the alcohol has taken hold of their bodies and their normal speaking voices have become slurred shouts. This is simply a fun song that you will be singing for days and seals the album as something to really admire.

In a genre where bands come and go in no time whatsoever, Death Before Dishonor have held their own for quite awhile. Count Me In suffers from a few cases of repetition overkill, but still stands out as one of the better “hardcore” releases in recent time. Forget over production, keyboards, samples, and synth; Death Before Dishonor take hardcore back to its roots and remind you what real music is all about. It’s not about the clothes or the fashion, it’s about passion and finding others who share in your trials and support you. Listening to Count Me In is like joining the brotherhood any hardcore fan has longed to find. It’s truly an intense record and I say buy it or regret your decision later.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 7.5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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