Ahhh, the sweet sound of metalcore.  An overpopulated genre indeed, but those who play metalcore right tend to stick above and beyond the many followers in their pack.  Metalcore vets IT DIES TODAY know how to play the game right, and are making an explosive entrance back into the scene with Lividity.  These guys have already made their mark as one of the strong in metalcore, and it’s great to see/hear them back at full force.  Even with new vocalist Jason Wood, their hooks and choruses are still catchy as ever, and the band still knows how to throw it down hard.  IT DIES TODAY has taken their stylistic and well rounded sound, and continues to get stronger and stronger. 

IT DIES TODAY begins to heat things up at a fast pace with their album opener, “This Ghost”.  With guitars galloping all over the track, the band sure let’s the listener’s know they are back with something to say.  And while “This Ghost” gets things going, Lividity has plenty more tricks up its sleeve.  Once IT DIES TODAY unleashes “Reckless Abandon”, get ready, because you’ve got a hit single coming!  It’s soooo catchy, and the chorus is bound to get a crowd singing along.  Hell, I find myself singing along to “Reckless Abandon” at the most random times – it’s just that catchy and addictive.  Anyways, the verses stomp serious ground with great double bass drum accents and great melodic guitar riffs, and the transitions are monstrous.  The song structure on “Reckless Abandon” is perfect, and in the outro IT DIES TODAY goes out with a bang, making sure their mark is made.  “The Architects” is another big bruiser that unleashes so much power, excitement, and a command that very few can pull off in metalcore.  The tempo is fast, plus the band enters into a much more complex atmosphere than they have before.  “The Architects” has mosh glory written all over it.  Put this one on repeat, immediately!  Moving into “Complacence Without Pursuit (Lividity), the song may find IT DIES TODAY at their catchiest.  The chorus opens your eyes, pulls your heart’s strings, and brings this warmth that just makes you feel good.  The melodies are incredible, and as moving a song “Complacence Without Pursuit (Lividity)” is, IT DIES TODAY ultimately shows how accessible they can be to the hardcore, metal, rock, and emo crowds.  Everyone can love IT DIES TODAY!

The band has always had this mass appeal, and is still amongst the leaders in the scene.  On a commercial aspect, they’ve sold over 150,000 in combined CD sales.  On a musical aspect, they keep getting heavier, and also are finding new ways to get the job done.  It’s hard to pick a favorite song because each chorus gets me singing along, each brutal moment gets my head banging, and how perfectly each song structure presents itself makes Lividity a memorable listen from start to finish.  Lividity is one of the best albums of 2009, hands down.