Die For are a five-piece band from Hull, who are only 4 months old but have put together this demo and completed a tour with Tearjerk and Strikeout. The clue is in the title really, this is standard hardcore punk. The overwhelming feeling is that if they’d have held off for a while longer they could have worked on their song writing a little more and achieved a better end result.
While the music treads the obvious hardcore pattern of chugging power-chord guitars and barked vocals, the lyrics are the most interesting part of this demo. ‘Going Places, With New Faces’ and ‘Believing and Achieving’ are standard rants at the mass hordes, but ‘More Crimes and Vegan Rhymes’ (they like rhyming song titles don’t they?) and ‘Still Hoping For More’ show a passion for their lifestyle and a sensitivity not found in your average hardcore band. I may be sympathetic because I share their views, but statements made in ‘Still Hoping For More’ reflect what I’ve wanted to say to the masses of country bumpkins I grew up around for years: “What’s wrong with humane sport? Whatever happened to rational thought? Badger baiting, fox intimidating, whipping horses, what are your choices? When you hunt, it’s not a sport, you stupid cunt, who can’t be bought.â€
‘More Crimes and Vegan Rhymes’ is a similarly themed song, though this time anger takes a back seat and, interestingly for a hardcore band, the virtues of being a Vegan are explained in a more passive manner: “I agree it looks so hard its true, but when you’re a few months down the line, veganism becomes much easier after timeâ€. Don’t let these ideals remind you of Earth Crisis, there’s a sensitivity and intelligence within the standard hardcore packaging on offer here. Unfortunately, the packaging/music is just that.
Die For have a good lyricist with good ideas. With time the lyrics can grow and cover more similarly themed topics, but to act as a vehicle for the ideas, the music has to become something more. ‘Still Hoping For More’ is probably the most memorable song, with the chorus refrain “badger baiting, fox intimidating…†providing a good hook, which the gang backing vocals compliment. If they work on creating more memorable songs than Die For could shape up to be a band to keep your eyes on.
http://diefor.emptyfate.co.uk
Ben Gosling