Mis●an●thrope - Ded

Well guys, it happened. I promised myself I would never forget Kim's birthday, but I did. Maybe I ought to change my name to Synic Sucks instead of Synic Spins. I said I would have all 3 of her requests done during her birthday week, yet I dropped the ball and here we are, a few days late.

Ded holds a very new, small, and special place in my heart. I first saw them with Kim when they were part of the Mother's House of Horrors Tour with In This Moment, New Year's Day, Little Miss Nasty, and *gulp* Motionless in White. I had not heard of them before that night, but their brief-yet-energetic set made me a fan. Revisiting their studio material now, I'm not sure I would've been a fan had I not seen them live first. (This is one of the points I'll be making in my future "The Importance of The Live Show" post. Stay tuned.) Their image is almost nonexistent in the videos from their first album, which is totally forgivable since, as I said, it is their first album. (Imagine the demon lovechild of Breaking Benjamin and All-American Rejects) They just wanted to get their sound out there, and they certainly did that.

The opening track "Architect" is a strong opener for a band's debut album, yet the following track falls rather flat. A lead single for the album, "Anti-Everything" features verses delivered in an almost metal-rap like fashion, something that I am certainly not a fan of. To me that's like Raisinettes. Sure, there are people out there who love Raisinettes, but as for me, get your nasty raisins the fuck out of my chocolate. Thanks. So Joe, I admire your efforts, but get your rap out of my metal. In many ways, these guys seem to be a nu-metal revival band, which would certainly explain hardcore-Linkin-Park-fan Kim's affinity for them, however it is my opinion that we should have left nu-metal to die in the mid 2000's After Meteora, it all went downhill. (Don't get me wrong, Linkin Park - EARLY - Linkin Park, has it's place. In a future post I will look at the important Hybrid Theory and pay my respects to the late Chester Bennington.)

The low point of this record is over early on, as the next few tracks all land strongly. Especially the hit single "FMFY" which gives listeners a glimpse at an angry Joe. And angry Joe is the best Joe.

Relating back to my first point about them not quite having an image yet, the video for "Remember The Enemy" comes in and actually illustrates who these guys are and makes me retract my statement.  The all black attire, graveyard setting, and pure white eye contacts on the band members makes it much more clear as to what new listeners can expect of Ded. That said, the video and the song itself, are not great. Ded has better to offer than this, I assure you. Check out the unexpected but lovely closing track, "Beautiful." I was not prepared for a slow closer, but shockingly enough I welcomed it.

As a whole, this entire record is dripping with influences from early Korn. Early Korn was arguably the best Korn, so this debut record from Ded is a strong effort to get themselves started. In fact, Misanthrope turns 3 in just a couple weeks. So they are still green in their music career, but I am looking forward to the journey they take us on.

Mis●an●thrope - Ded

7 - 21 - 2017

1. Architect

2. Anti-Everything

3. Dead to Me

4. FMFY

5. Remember the Enemy

6. Disaccociate

7. Rope

8. Hate Me

9. I Exist

10. Inside

11. Beautiful

Favorite Track: Inside

Least Favorite Track: Anti-Everything

Rating: 7.4