Till I'm Dead at All

Dead of Night could be an epic hidden gem to many ears, candidly ganking Children of Bodom's early sound and going blow for blow with some of the best in the process. I'm not saying originality is sorely missed here, especially when the emulation is so spot-on; the ragged speed metal harrying alongside classically-inflected melodies and thrashing rhythm. Till I'm Dead at All reminds me of Archeon or early Made of Hate at times, and its an endearingly murky mishmash of styles that is difficult to resurrect in earnest. Russia's Solerrain have their moments of Follow the Reaper focus, among others. But nobody has come as close as Dead of Night. This almost sounds like a tribute band!

The Children of Bodom aesthetic that is aimed for is specifically Hatebreeder, with maybe a stronger emphasis toward the debut concerning the brash, unhinged vocal delivery. Haverinen has that yowling grumble down, scratching and clawing his way through arbitrary vocal cadence, lending to the adequate and laudable whole. Leads are of course nowhere near Children of Bodom concerning technical aptitude and melodic creativity. That said, "Everything Is to Die" (which is this album's "Everytime I Die" obviously), has a bevy of melodic licks and fettering Inearthed-style speed metal rhythm constructions. It almost sounds like Running Wild at times like on "Night Time Horror Show." Dead of Night truly excel when hammering out epic riffs like on the title track, although Haverinen's vocals have the tendency to overwhelm sometimes. He sounds like he needs to take a breather.

The riffs keep me returning, even though there is a shocking lack of technicality. It's simply more poignant and efficient, like the build up of "Follow the Misery," surely a highlight. The licks blow effervescent melodic appeal on top of the dizzying swarm of the speed metal riffs. Some tunes lock into a solid triplet gait like "Night Before the Dawn," which is a six-plus minute tour de force, cutting and digging in deep with those monster epic riffs. Gosh, it's almost better than Bodom at points, especially that atmospheric riff around the three minute mark. Aside from the overbearing obnoxiously over-emphasized vocals, it's shockingly on point. "Driven by the Demons" has more imperial speed metal picking to go alongside some of the more deliberate riffs of the album. Some songs like "Six Feet Under" are largely interchangeable with the remainder of the album, so there are dull moments where the band just sort of coasts along.

I won't hate on these guys for trying to copy a popular style especially when it is as well-executed as this. Dead of Night have compositional aptitude and plenty of character. Whether or not you credit that to their forebears, Till I'm Dead at All is the most convincing attempt at this style that I've come across in a long time. The rawer production values are a real hoot, and there are more than several moneyshot moments, many of them during the second half of "Night Time Horror Show." I have to say, these Finns really impressed me here. I could pick a random song from Till I'm Dead at All and fool even seasoned Bodom fans that this is the real mccoy. Make of that what you will.