Boston's Bury Your Dead are back with their latest offering, this one titled It's Nothing Personal, and you have to wonder if the title of the CD is a remark directed at their fanbase, as the band yet again takes the listener on a bit of a musical swerve here. Much of the brutal hardcore elements seem to be disappearing, the band instead mixing up their attack with plenty of melodic, almost poppy vocals, hard rock attitude, and a healthy dose of Slipknot-inspired nu-metal savagery. For the most part it works, though the end result is not anything overly original, but after repeated spins these tunes do sort of grab you and keep your interest with their overall varied arrangements. "Broken Body" is a good example of all the different styles going on here, as this tune contains some brutal, almost death metal elements, a clash of growling and clean pop vocal styles, and nu-metal/industrial riffing. On "The Great Demonizer", the extreme metal aspects are really well done, though they inject some melodic crooning that almost seem out of place. The mix of vocal styles work better on the crushing "Swan Song", and longtime fans will dig the brutal, almost Fear Factory-inspired "Lakota", complete with some blistering drum work and mammoth riffs. "Legacy of Ashes" is another piece that contains some truly pulverizing moments and lots of brutal breakdowns, but again, the inclusion of clean vocals, though well done, just seem out of place. The eerie, almost gothic-tinged "Closed Eyes" might be the most intriguing number on the CD, and it would be interesting to see the band take this direction in the future and expand on it.
Overall, It's Nothing Personal has plenty of impressive moments, and for fans of modern metal/hardcore, there's more than enough to recommend here. It just seems that the band is having an identity crisis and hasn't really sorted out which direction to go in. There's enough good things happening here that hopefully they will sort it all out on their next release and really make the musical statement they are fully capable of.
Track Listing
1. Hurting Not Helping
2. Without You
3. Broken Body
4. Great Demonizer
5. Dead End Lovesong
6. Swan Song
7. Lakota
8. Forgotten
9. Lion's Den
10. Legacy of Ashes
11. Closed Eyes
12. Enough
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