Better Lovers - Highly Irresponsible (2024)^{Release ID: 55778}

I can say with utmost certainty that Every Time I Die was not apart of my go-to metalcore bands during the 2000s. I never disliked them, but in comparison to the festival metalcore that was popular late in the decade and even into the 2010s, they never crossed my mind. That said, I was surprised by the “mainstream” pivot with records such as Ex Lives and Low Teens late into their career, with some of Low Teens still serving as regular playlist fodder for me.

When ETID (Every Time I Die) broke up, it left a noticeable hole in the metalcore scene, since their brand of southern metal was one-of-a-kind. And it became a huge deal when three of ETID’s members were heard in studio with ex Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist, Gerg Puciato. And thus, Better Lovers came to be. The bands debut EP (God Made Me an Animal) was a wallop of southern metalcore that was certainly fun, but also felt too like the other band.

Highly Irresponsible by contrast is a record that has the distinct sound of ETID, but with a little extra flavour. The album is grimy and lacks polish, but the instrumentals have a bit more flare than one might expect from a classic ETID album. It should be all the makings of a disaster record, yet somehow the southern rock influence remains constant throughout. Highly Irresponsible sounds ferocious.

Greg Puciato might have something to do with that. The vocal delivery of Puciato is very different from Keith Buckley. And if I’m being completely honest, Puciato’s vocals fit the intensity and style better than Buckley. These vocals are distinct and lack the clean polish that were present on previous Dillinger records. But the vocals are not perfect; I do not remember Puciato’s clean singing being this hit-or-miss, however some of the cleaner songs like “A White Horse Covered in Blood” have this eerily out-of-tune vocal presentation that does not sit well with me.

The compositions are varied, which is nice, but lack consistency. You can hear sporadic mathcore influence from Dillinger Escape Plan, some straightforward bangers from classic ETID, as well as the more melodic side of that band that was present on Low Teens. Some songs are catchy, like “Future Myopia”, but other like “Superman Died Paralyzed” just scream album filler. Meanwhile, the ending is odd. “At All Times” has the classic sound of resolution on a metalcore album, only for “Love as an Act of Rebellion” to show up and rip the band-aid off for one more assault; it felt like a classic bonus track on a physical album, but without the secret.

This record might turn out to be a grower for me. While I do like Better Lovers for their blending of styles from their previous endeavours, it almost feels like too much of a good thing. Highly Irresponsible shows the love for Every Time I Die and that these mates still have plenty left in the tank to offer us. However, in doing so, Better Lovers created an album that is missing polish. I am willing to let it slide for now, but it would be irresponsible of me to give them the benefit of the doubt in the future.

Best Songs: Your Misplaced Self, Future Myopia, Deliver Us From Life, Love as an Act of Rebellion