I Want You Dead - "We are the Legions of Scums" Review (2010)

OK people, it's time to get serious, cause this band is surely not joking around with their core. Hailing from Patras/Greece, I Want You Dead is a dark heavy hardcore outfit that has hit the premises of our country (and beyond) with such force and ferocity that you won't believe your ears when you listen to them. This is their 1st full-length (self-released on vinyl, free download), entitled "We are the Legions of Scums" and it is here to destroy all our ears.

IWYD plays a form of hardcore that incorporates both ultra-heavy and oldschool HC sounds. It may be based on old school hardcore (let's say some Boston stuff comes to mind), but is definitely layered with heavy and dark modernity which pushes the whole thing forward into another direction. You can hear some Integrity type mosh, some Cursed style crustcore sensibilites, some drone/doom and a fair bit of plain death metal (especially on the vocals). When I saw them live recently, I had thought it is dark post-metal with a hardcore side; now I see that it's the opposite: it is actually all hardcore, but with a post-apocalyptic metal side to it.

I Want You Dead: happy stuff

The riffs are all epic and stick to your mind, and so do the vocals which have some pretty nice catchphrases thrown at the listener's face. In this way, the chaotic element actually becomes a tool for IWYD without leading their whole sound. Clever shit. The rhythm section follows through in a manic style, with hardcore drumming blasts that just go crazy and give you the impression that the dude is having the time of his life doing this. It is perfect to hear some heavy hardcore grooves matched with straight on hardcore drumming. I had missed that!

Special edition vinyl

Another reason to take our hats off for this band is the perfect production sound they got on this album. They've done a very good job, escpecially on the combination of the razor-sharp guitars with the natural sounding drums and the huge old school hardcore shoutalongs. That's some quality stuff right there. IWYD is now leading the way with a professional sound that at the same time doesn't sound overly big or fake (a common trap). It's just the right balance between going pro and going down to the basement. Thus, I Want You Dead manages to provide the feeling that accompanies their music: a suffocating, dark and angry feeling, like a caver buried alive two miles below surface.

Give these guys their props while they're returning from their 1st ever European tour, and catch them on the print version of TYS!!! Get this album and listen to their awesome, almost unrecognizable cover of Slapshot's "Old School Hardcore"!