Dirge Within’s long-anticipated sophomore album, There Will Be Blood, exuberates with the raw energy that the band has made into something of a trademark.
Released on April 10, There Will Be Blood is the follow-up to Dirge Within’s 2009 debut album, Force Fed Lies. Based out of Chicago, Dirge Within formed in 2007 with the efforts of vocalist Jeremy “Jerms” Genske and former Broken Hope and Soil guitarist Shaun Glass. Along with Genske and Glass, Dirge Within currently consists of drummer Frankie Harchut and lead guitarist Chuck Wepfer. As of 2010, there has been no official bassist, with the band relying upon various and sporadic bass players for live shows.
With a sound that nods to the groove and thrash metal genres and songs that tend to question the ideals of religion and politics, the band gained the attention of singer/songwriter/producer Brian ‘Edsel Dope’ Ebejer — vocalist of the heavy and alternative metal band Dope, who also found their start in Chicago — Ebejer and producer Chris Djuricic aided in the production of Dirge Within’s first album. Force Fed Lies proved to hold a surprising number of contributing metal artists, something rarely seen with a debut album. Ebejer and fellow Dope guitarist Andre ‘Virus’ Karkos lent their talents to the album, along with Trivium bassist Corey Beaulieu and guitarist Michael Angelo Batio. With the amalgamation of Dirge Within’s own talents and those of the contributing artists, Dirge Within has since earned a foothold in the modern metal scene.
Despite the rather stark and almost foreboding title, There Will Be Blood finds Dirge Within in some unexplored territory: melody and sentiment. As minimal as it may be, those few songs that have been crafted to be of a slower pace and a much more ‘tame’ nature break new ground for the group. Also, singer Genske has brought a bit of variation to his vocal style. Genske is known for his unique guttural ‘singing’, which is something of a hybrid between screaming and growling, but on this new album, Ganske utilizes a much clearer and typical singing voice for several songs’ choruses and even sings clearly through one entire song, something Dirge Within has never done.
The opening track of There Will Be Blood is a very brief intro, “Bloodletting.” Being only a forty-two second long segment, “Bloodletting” can hardly be called a ‘song’. As far as intros go, however, this segment serves its purpose, setting up the rest of the album as the repetitive percussion and guitars rise from a mere whisper to a haunting tone, building tension and hype just before breaking into “For My Enemies” with aggression and energy. “For My Enemies” is an anthem fueled by anger, with the lyrics essentially telling the tale of how the members of Dirge Within rose above the ridicule and doubt that their critics held for them. “For My Enemies” is a song for anyone who has surpassed the monotony and simplicity of a life they were told they could never rise above or better.
“As We Prey” is vintage Dirge Within material. Something of a plea for stability and peace in America, “As We Prey” analyzes how the nation has slowly seemed to turn against itself in the past years, morphing into a dog-eat-dog country that is tearing itself apart. Following “As We Prey” is the first of a new breed of tune from Dirge Within, “Memories.” Astoundingly, the vocals of this song are sung almost entirely in a clear, natural singing voice and not delivered in a gut-wrenching, snarling fashion that is normally heard from Genske. “Memories” is the closest thing to a ballad as Dirge Within has ever come within a mile of performing. An evident and definite sense of sorrow arises through the lyrics, with the singer being forced to recall memories of his past, reliving moments spent with a friend or lover that has long since been lost in one way or another.
“Absolution” is yet another song that is befitting of the band’s style and sound. The song is a proclamation of freedom from oppression and tyranny, as well as a declaration of fighting vehemently to achieve it. The next song on the album is “Without You.” This tune is similar to “Memories” in the sense that it relies more upon melody and emotion rather than crazed instrumentals and animalistic growls and howls. “Without You” is a song that speaks to the soul of any person that has received a broken, shadowed heart from a failed relationship. “There Will Be Blood” — the namesake of the album — is without doubt the harshest and most fast-paced tune that is offered on this release. There’s no emotion to behold here except for pure, unrestrained, rampant rage.
Sharing a similar theme as “There Will Be Blood” is the next song, “A.L.F.” Both songs focus on the increasing deterioration and destruction of the world, but “A.L.F.” does so in a far more ‘conservative’ method. “A.L.F” questions whether or not the world is beyond redemption, and if humanity’s self-centered ways will doom us all to a dreadful end that otherwise may have been prevented. Next up is “Vultures,” yet another aggressive toned song. The ‘vultures’ in the song are the people that ridicule, abuse, and take advantage of those who accomplish notoriety and fame in life. Just like carrion, this type of people feeds off the failures of the adept, stalking and waiting for the famous to fail in their endeavors. “Murder… Savior” is a song that follows suit with “There Will Be Blood” in terms of hostility and intensity. This is without a shadow of a doubt the most controversial song on this album. Beneath the very dark and violent lyrics, however, there is a message to glean. This tune brings up the idea of killing in the name of God, like in such past conflicts as the Crusades, and how taking a life in order to preserve a religion or faith is used as an excuse to simply spread hatred and spill blood. Listeners beware: this is a very tentative and taboo song.
Finally, wrapping up the album is “Apathy,” a song that is almost entirely an instrumental. The chorus is repeated three times, and save for this, no other lyrics appear in the tune. Although slow and measured compared to their other songs, Dirge Within still maintains their edge with “Apathy” while simultaneously showing their ability to create a strong instrumental that does not have to rely upon lyrics to be a song worth listening to.
Dirge Within is a straight-up metal band that promises aggression, fury, and non-stop momentum. Solos are fine-tuned for each song, the drums are pulverizing, and the guitar playing is on the same level as a heavy-metal veteran that has been performing music for years and years. Each song contains an energy that can awaken the rebel within us all, and each song has an impact like a blow to the face from a steel boxing glove. Future Dirge Within classics are bound to include such songs as “For My Enemies,” “Memories,” “Absolution,” and “There Will Be Blood.” Whether or not ‘there will be blood’ is questionable, but what isn’t is that there will be far more to come from Dirge Within in the years ahead.
Ratings:
“Bloodletting” – 5/10
“For My Enemies” – 10/10
“As We Prey” – 9/10
“Memories” – 10/10
“Absolution” – 9/10
“Without You” – 9/10
“There Will Be Blood” – 8/10
“A.L.F.” – 9/10
“Vultures” – 8/10
“Murder… Savior” – 7/10
“Apathy” – 8/10