Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Dead to Fall - Are You Serious? (2008)

The first 3 albums of Dead to Fall were known as a personal struggle for the band, especially vocalist Jon Hunt. They weren't really up for the serious image of the deathly metalcore sound they had. Of course I know what fans of their original sound would say to me, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! You're gonna start with their wackiest album?" And the answer is yes I am, and it works! Are You Serious has humor in the album, songs, and cover art where they're the most comfortable while as enjoyable as the grand classics.

Well it's not entirely a drastic change in the metal sound, but there's more flavor, and I mean bong-party flavor, almost as much as Attila at that time. What also reminds me of that band is how they add in riffing reminiscent of A Life Once Lost and Carnage.

An experimental intro "IQ Test" starts the album. Then "Stupid?" unleashes mighty in-your-face deathly metalcore to make fun of the genre in the lyrics, with Hunt bellowing about how "F***ING STUPID!!!" this song is, mentioning the "OH SH*T!!" At the Gates-like thrashy death metal riff while it's playing, and finally ending it all "WITH A F***ING BREAKDOWN!!!" There's more eclectic programming to come later in this album. "The Future" takes us through atonal space and A Life Once Lost-like riff-wrath. "Sleeping Bag" injects some thrashy guitar into their metalcore in a highlight that shows how much they've evolved.

"Major Rager" is another highlight of strong adrenaline and has practically invented party-core before Attila later that year. This is deathly metalcore with a humorous twist as Jon Hunt bellows about "doing another shot" and "staying up all f***ing night". Another highlight, "Loch Ness" shows some more shredding and vocal growling, this time in a mellower pace, almost like stoner doom, along with delicate programming. "Brainmelter" is faster but still mid-paced, a bit like death 'n' roll in the riffing.

This humorous direction once again has a bit of the band's roots in "Cropgrower". Then "Robo-Destro" has destructive power almost as chaotic as The Dillinger Escape Plan. "Doombox" is another Hatebreed/Bring Me the Horizon-sounding metalcore monster. "Astral Projection/Dream J(ourney)" has trippy weirdness to end the journey nicely.

In a strange yet awesome way, Dead to Fall turned into a more natural and organic band of Darkest Hour-infused metalcore, with the guitarist of that band, Mike Schleibaum manning the production, all while painting the metalcore walls with humor. In the end, you can still hear something more deadly than a mosh-pit ninja, alongside the humor that the earlier, more serious fans, might not approve of. Dead to Fall had the confidence to make that move, and I'm super glad to find the tone balanced out. Seriously!

Favorites: "Stupid?", "Sleeping Bad", "Major Rager", "Loch Ness", "Doombox"