Review of Boysetsfire - Before The Eulogy

After having released material on a number of different labels, Delaware's own Boysetsfire has found a new home with Equal Vision Records and damn it if they didn’t arrive with a few extra goodies in hand. If you’ve never heard Boysetsfire, this is a good place to start. Seeing how there are 20 tracks spanning the groups pre-millennium years, you should be pretty busy acquainting yourself with their well-constructed hardcore meets Fugazi sound.

Considering the amount of tracks offered on Before the Eulogy, it’s only reasonable to expect a bit of filler. The good news is that a large chunk of the album is oozing with impassioned, unpretentious, and fairly unique music, so the filler is ultimately forgivable. Vocalist Nathan Gray seamlessly incorporates both screaming and singing to create a maelstrom of sound that serves more as an additional instrument than a superfluous layer, and his lyrics, while hardly subtle and sometimes unnecessarily crass, are nonetheless inventive. More melodic songs like “Rocket Man” that sound closer to rock radio than earlier recordings highlight his clean vocals, but more hardcore-influenced, Fugazi-esque tracks like “Parasite Candy” are addictive in their ability to weave rhythmic screaming and messy guitars. Of the latter tracks, “Three Lefts” is a must download if you’re not going to buy the whole album.

I never would have given this group an opportunity had they not fallen into my lap, but now that I’ve listened to Before the Eulogy in full a few times, I know I’d make a point to buy this and one of their post-2000 releases had I not had access to the album as a reviewer. As both a casual fan of Fugazi and the dirtier, more messy and corrosive element inherent in rock and metal, Boysetsfire’s sound appeals to me and should you fit a similar description, will appeal to you. Equal Visions has released a lot of quality genre-defying material as of late, and Boysetsfire’s Before the Eulogy is no exception. Riffs aplenty and chockfull of melodic aggression, Boysetsfire is one of a very few bands who can pull off a Fugazi vibe while retaining and successfully meeting unique, hardcore aspirations. Commendable, indeed...

Release Details

Boysetsfire

Before The Eulogy

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