I bet a lot of you have heard the Steadfast Radiowaves & Gibberish comp. Yep, that had SPITFIRE on it. I am afraid that if your excuse for not buying The Dead Next Door is that you didn't like the song on the Steadfast cd, then you need to find a new one. This sounds like a totally different band. Solid State made no error in signing this amazing three-piece metalcore act.
Now that I have that out of the way, I must start to try and describe this to you. Ummmm. (this is a very hard one to review). Well I will start off by saying that one of my friends told me that this cd "might not be everyone's favorite, but it is interesting 100% of the time." Well, the second half of that statement is true, but I am afraid this CD will become a favorite for many.
The guitars are in your face with insane grooves and metalcore riffs everywhere. Guitar wise you could make comparisons to a LOT of bands. Slayer, Zao, Coalesce. Even Embodyment or Neurosis. The bass is massive, you could not ask anything more from a bassist. Then the drummer, Chris, is amazing. Yes, always the insane edge needed to keep you scared, and oh yes there are blast beats in one song. The vocals are not at all the same as on the Steadfast comp, or the other EP. They are not so shrieky, and to say that the vocals here are better is an understatement.
It has the insanity. It has the heaviness. It has the killer metalcore riffs, harmonic squeals, and yes, even short emo-styled parts in two songs. Lister probably won't publish this sentence, but I think these guys should start an emo band on the side! (Editor--Ahem...published!) I don't see how anyone can call this cd hardcore. It's metal all the way baby!
This cd includes 2 instrumentals, one of them sounds just like something you would hear off of a Neurosis cd, and the other is for sure some emo.
Sure they redo the 3 songs from the EP Straining Towards What's to Come, but there are still 6 new songs on here, and the older 3 sound like brand new songs. They are just so much more amazing here than on the previous cd.
So is this worth your bucks? You bet! Hey, I do not get paid at all to write this review, so I am not just saying good things on purpose. This makes it all the way up on the insane/heavy/versatile/talent scale.
9.5/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #78Reviewed by Ben MengdenWith each listen, this album shows the intricacies which are the strength to this style. The name fits the band well. The vocals are aggro and fiery. Very mature hardcore vocals with enough growl and pitch to remind the listener of grind and death metal. And the guitar equals the vocals. Amazing changes... These guys will probably get compared to Embodyment about a bazillion times, but Spitfire…Exit Zine 1999Reviewed by John SantThese guys are definitely innovative and have created a genre that is completely their own. It's an odd combination of off-time drumbeats coupled with melodic, chugging guitars. And while this sounds pretty standard, it isn't at all. Sadly, this doesn't save Spitfire from creating one too many songs that plod along to the end. This band has SO much potential, it's insane. There's innovation…Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestHere's another metalcore product from the Solid State Records roster. Compared to other bands from the label, Spitfire can be described as a cross between Embodyment and Training For Utopia. It has the diversity of riffs that succeed each other from Embodyment. It has the chaotic structures from TFU. Sometimes there are fast parts as fast as the speed of light (like Embodyment) but most of the…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Justin W. JonesIf madness and poetry were to produce children, their children would be Spitfire. This trio from Virginia Beach doesn't sound very nice ... or do they? That's the problem with this album: just when you think you've figured out their style, the band stops and switches it up. For the most part, The Dead Next Door is hardcore music with raging vocals, scorching guitars, and melodic bridges. I think…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by thOrNFrom the east coast comes angst-filled metal-core. Spitfire has been around for quite some time but have only recently been picked up by a "major" label. You may have heard a song off this disc on the This Is Solid State sampler that came out awhile back, but let me tell you now, that song is one of the least listenable on the album. I have no idea why that song "Render Quench Create" made it…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by GrindboyAnybody who had the experience of flying a combat helicopter in the Gulf War should have a pretty good handle on what it's like listening to the Solid State debut of Spitfire. Since that's probably not many of you, though, you can compare it to Embodyment pretty easily, too. Lots of chaotic abrasive death-core type stuff, and done well. The songs don't really appear to have any particular…Similar sounding releases
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