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It is somewhat telling that the new album from DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR takes its name from a track that appeared on the band’s debut full-length over 20 years ago, and that said track slots in just as nicely with a modern beef-up as the closer on this one. The Boston hardcore legends have never really tried to fix what isn’t broken – even when they went a full decade between albums from 2009 to 2019 – and thus it is of little surprise that Nowhere Bound does little to surprise. This is classic, high-energy, groove-heavy hardcore exactly as the band have always delivered it, and as long as you know that going into it you should leave plenty satisfied.
With vocalist Bryan Harris’ gruff and boomy bark pushed front and centre in the mix – and often backed by the essential gang chants and a few killer guests – it is clear enough here as it always has been that DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR are all about the shout-alongs and pile-ons and frantic clamouring for the mic that inevitably sends it bouncing across the floor of a sweaty little venue as some poor sound engineer scurries after it and ponders their life choices. First tracks proper Inherit The Pain and Die Alone are definitely the album’s strongest and most hard-hitting lyrically, both unflinching in their respective reflections on mental health struggles (“My own mind won’t fight fair”) and the anguish of watching a loved one succumb to addiction (“Watch you die alone / It’s out of my control”).
But even when Nowhere Bound enters into more familiar – and, let’s be honest, more generic – themes of loyalty and brotherhood and betrayal and so on it remains invariably solid. Fifth track Will To Fight features Billy Graziadei of BIOHAZARD and sees him following Harris’ lead in belting out a catchy, fists-up chorus of “Never lost my strength / Never lost my sight / I will never lose the will to fight”, while the MADBALL-esque Pushed To The Edge and the riff-heavy Overruled either side of it flesh out a particularly strong first half with plenty of the band’s trademark groove and swagger and eye for an eye mentality.
At a little less than 23 minutes all told, and with no track clearing the three-minute mark, there’s a much-needed urgency here too, aided by simple but effective choices like putting the breakneck Forgive And Forget (feat. Josh Long of SKINHEAD) right before the massive riff that kicks off Thick As Thieves to induce a healthy dose of listener whiplash. The aforementioned title track provides a final highlight – all bounce and beef and aggro and proof above all else of a band who’ve been great at what they do for well over two decades now.
Ultimately, Nowhere Bound is pretty much as good a place to start as any other with DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR, especially with its chunky muscular mix courtesy of returning producer Zeuss (HATEBREED, MADBALL, TERROR). It’s exactly what people come to this band for – neither more nor less – and if it is your first exposure to them and you like what you hear then the good news is there’s five more where that came from (2007’s Count Me In is probably the best if you’re looking for another rec, but honestly you can’t go wrong with any of them).
Rating: 7/10
Nowhere Bound is set for release on May 16th via Bridge Nine Records.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Nowhere Bound – Death Before Dishonor appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
