Young And In The Way - When Life Comes To Death (Album Review)

Young And In The Way's new album When Life Comes To Death continues the trend of awesome Deathwish releases. It's heavy, grimy, artistic, and interesting. I keep asking myself where does Deathwish find such awesome stuff. It's always quality over quantity with them and they are always able to find artists that deliver such unique and interesting pieces of music.

If done the right way hardcore music really has the ability to breathe and create a unique atmosphere. When Life Comes To Death is an album that production wise is rough around the edges and has a very punk feel while musically is very thought out and interesting. The production fits the chaotic style and the growling vocals really well. It just has this intensity I love in heavy records.

The guitar work and vocals shine on this album. I also love the driving rhythm section. The drums sound like they are being beaten so hard they are screaming out in a thunderous roar. Songs like "F*ck This Life" are just so intense and chaotic while certain guitar parts just have this hypnotic pacing and vibe. "Self Inflicted" just hits you with a wall of chaotic sounds that go into this somber moment which leads into this great building vibe musically and the songs just moods and broods until the drums lead you into the song with these intense growling vocals. It's such a gnarly sounding song. "Shadow Of Murder" would take the cake for most interesting song on the album. After a few tracks of really intense hardcore/punk it's a more acoustic, orchestral sounding track with keys, strings and this really somber slow moving pace. The vocals are buried so deep in the song they are nearly inaudible. They just poke up quietly in the track seeming like they are occasionally reminding you they are there. It's a really interesting song and it adds a lot to the album. The track builds into the last song when at first you might think by the somber moaning intro the track is going to be a light end to an intense album, but at about a minute in the guitars just rage and then from that point the drums thunder into intense mode. The pacing is interesting and this track is really long and has an interesting pace. It shifts moods and vibes and ends up cycling back to the moaning vibe of the intro with a screeching wail of guitars over the song until it just fades to nothingness and the album finishes.

There’s no way around it; Young And In The Way have crafted a very good album of hardcore/punk. It may not be instantly as standout as something like Deafheaven's Sunbather, but nonetheless it's easily one of the better albums I've heard from the sound and genre in a while. It's nearly flawless in execution. The artwork is phenomenal and eye catching. I really like this album a lot. I found myself itching to listen to it again after the first listen. This band succeeds in big ways and this album is a big accomplishment.