MODERN LIFE IS WAR: My Love, My way CD Give Up the Ghost Isis like, some 80s hardcore Black Flag. Good lyrics. Check whole album, all songs

Description

undoubtedly one of the greatest HC bands of the 2000s. This is an absolutely incredible record – and any fan of hardcore of today or yesterday needs to have it. Some have said this only shows the potential that was to be realised with the next album, Witness, and while that record is MLIW’s best, this is still an essential album that demands to be heard. I don’t know what else to say other than if you appreciate hardcore punk, you will love this. Real passion, amazing songs, real hardcore punk rock. Fast, intense, great lyrics, no breakdowns, no hint of the awful metalcore fashion ‘hardcore’ of the mid-2000s. Watch their videos + realise how glorious they were live, start a band and try to recreate it! People say this about alot of mediocre records, but by the end of this amazing CD, you will be reminded why you fell in love with this music in the first place. It isn’t fashionable, it isn’t popular, it isn’t understood by the mainstream, but it’s as vital and real as anything. Do yourself a favour, buy this right now. And play it loud!

Label: Deathwish Inc
Release date: 6 Jan 2004
Running length; 12 tracks
Running time: 28:22

1. Breaking the Cycle
2. Late Bloomers
3. Clarity
4. War
5. Self Preservation
6. By the Sea
7. Yesterday’s Trash
8. Tale of Two Cities, A
9. Momentum
10. First and Ellen

These fine young lads from Iowa bring with them a sound much like Give Up the Ghost, only mixed with splashes of 80 s hardcore a la Black Flag while also finding time for an Isis-like wall of sound.
Unlike most hardcore bands today, these chaps do not spend their whole album whining about the girl who broke their heart and how they are going to kill her. The band does not shy away from political lyrics, examining the problems inherent in our society and culture. In spite of these observations and the negative tone it suggests, MLIW always look through rose-colored glasses, trying to find hope in otherwise hopeless situations. They also understand the importance of knowing your roots and where you came from, while not going as far as say Biohazard and screaming  New York Bitch!  in every song. If there is one lyric that personifies the spirit of this record it would be this line from the song “”1st & Ellen:”” I know, I thought I was strong. I said I would never change…but that burning house left me an empty frame…and no longer can I decay…no longer can I keep my heart locked away. Have you ever felt like you are wasting your whole life searching for something you can’t find? There’s been so much talk of so many slashed up wrists…but we’re much too young to be dwelling on thoughts like this. So scrape your heart up from the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. Keep your faith in the path that’s growing narrow. Kill the doubt inside your head. We overcome. We push ahead.
2. The most striking thing about this record for me was that even though the vocals are of the screamed/shouting variety, you can understand the freaking lyrics. It doesn’t just sound like Cookie Monster over mosh parts; there is an actual song and words that fit the tunes. Everything about this release is top notch, even the booklet designed like an old-fashioned journal, complete with old passport stamps and photos. They even picked a font type for the lyrics, bucking the current trend of microscopic cursive fonts that make it impossible to prove how crappy the lyrics to most of these albums are.

Give it a chance kids, or better yet buy a copy for the cousin / little sister / little brother who believes the first Taking Back Sunday album is the most hardcore release of the last five years