Liberteer

Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

Written by: MST on 06/03/2012 21:22:46

What's up with all the trumpets in metal lately? First it was black metal, and now this. Liberteer is a one-man grindcore band from California, USA, and "Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees" is composer Matt Widener's debut on Relapse Records and the first album released since Liberteer was born from the ashes of Widener's former band Citizen. Some grind fanatics may recognize Widener's name from the years 1994-1995 when he was the bass player/vocalist of Exhumed.

Liberteer play a vicious slap of anarchogrind with every trademark associated with the genre: drums going from mid-tempo punk beats to relentless double pedals and blastbeats, raw guitar riffs with plenty of feedback, semi-growled vocals uttering politically charged lyrics at ridiculous speeds and an average track length of one and a half minutes. With 17 songs clocking in at 28 minutes in total, it would seem as if Liberteer leave no room for anything but vicious grind. But after the first trumpets in intro track "The Falcon Cannot Hear The Falconeer" only a minute goes by before the trumpets return for a short interlude during first track proper "Build No System". And thus the album continues, going from punked up tracks like "Without Blazon (Is The Flag I Hold Up And Do Not Wag)" to grindcore anthems like "We Are Not Afraid Of Ruins" with interludes either in songs or as whole tracks such as "Rise Like Lions After Slumber".

The album marches on, only allowing itself to be slowed down for some trumpet interludes once in a while. But some of the short songs have a hard time standing out on their own, and thus there will be times when the listener thinks: "Wait, didn't they play this song earlier?" But that is completely forgiven when the longer songs come into play. The two longer songs "That Which Is Not Given But Taken" and "It Is The Secret Curse Of Power That It Becomes Fatal" have their own individual identities because they're allowed to unfold completely during their lengths of three minutes and three and a half minutes respectively. Both of them contain memorable riffs and have noticeable recurring vocal lines that make those two tracks highlights.

Liberteer has delivered a fresh new opus for the genre that adds new ingredients without sacrificing any of the energy otherwise associated with this type of music. If you like your grind served raw with a side dish of trumpets, "Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees" comes highly recommended.

Download: Build No System, That Which Is Not Given But Taken, It Is The Secret Curse Of Power That It Becomes Fatal
For The Fans Of: Napalm Death, Brutal Truth
Listen: Facebook

Release date 31.01.2012
Relapse Records

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