Review: Live Not On Evil – 'When Everything Goes Down'

LIVE NOT ON EVIL 

'When Everything Goes Down' 

CREEP RECORDS 

It's good to hear some balls-to-the-wall, fist-in-the-air rock tunes every now an then, and that's something that American quartet Live Not On Evil have plenty of. This is honest, gritty, driving and riff orientated rock infused with punk attitude and gothic sheen. The band's latest full length offering, 'When Everything Goes Down', sees the band drop full-throttle riffs, throbbing bass lines and thundering drums in the blender, and the result is pretty infectious.

Throughout the ten tracks on the album, the band don't veer far from their formula. In true punk fashion they know what their strengths are and continually play to them with songs such as 'Falling For It', 'Set On Random', 'Switchblade Angels' and 'Still She Haunts Me'. There are no pulled punches or soft ballads. But that isn't to say the album is one long fast riff-fest. Tracks like 'Coming Back To Life' and 'The Claim' shine in particular as they slow things down and play with the atmosphere of the album while maintaining the band's heavy formula.

The production is rough and ready, and for the most part it works. Especially when the band are simply going hell-for-leather. However there is more than one occasion when the vocals feel a little wrong in the mix. As though they're kind of sat on top of the track. But this isn't a common occurrence, and the songs don't suffer at all from them.

This is a tight and well-written album by a band that should by all rights be a more well-known name. They have the gritty heaviness of early 69 Eyes, the metal infused punk overtones of The Misfits in the 90s, and the playful air of Lesbian Bed Death. It's a solid formula that should be well received across the board. Lets just hope they can continue to incorporate more varied tracks on future releases.

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