Having just release their album here at Mc Gig Music have reviewed the album ‘Cold World’ by L.A. based Alt-punk boys Death Lens.
You can read below what are reviewer Carl Foran makes of the album.
I have been gifted with the chance to review one of east LA’s top post punk bands coming out of the scene and exploding with their new album ‘Cold World’.
Death Lens started in 2012 as an instrumental band only, and wanted to get their emotions across in the music with no lyrics needed. But member Bryan Torres had a new outlook and started to express those ideas through his raw vocal skills.
Death Lens are using this album to talk about what’s really on their minds and to bring to light the pain that a majority of this world deals with. A common phrase amongst the band when they experience that pain and suffering or even view it via media or news outlets, they say ‘Fuck, it’s a cold world. And I for one, totally agree with them.
In their own words:
“The cold world is what’s happening in Gaza and certain political movements. Earlier, I started writing party songs and those party songs were cool when I was young, but now I want to use this platform as a way to press on the subjects that are important. That’s why we call it the Cold World, because it’s the meaning of how it feels to live on this earth right now”.
With an explosion of power chords and octaves, ‘Cold World’ kicks off with an anthem of pain, suffering and realisation that you should just do what you fucking want with the track ”Fucked UP”. Love hurts and being alone isn’t for everyone but at least you get to live the life you want.
An anthem indeed, and I can already picture myself screaming along to “Don’t be afraid, Do what you want”.
”Disturb the Peace” takes me right to where we are at the moment even in Dublin with the city overtaken by protests against war and the division in the city towards immigration and then we have the death tolls rising in Gaza. Trinity college has been taken over and the students are proving their point and wining, with the protests leading towards a total divestment from Isreal.
”Disturb The Peace” echos on how you must disturb the peace in order to gain back control.
‘Immigrant raised, gave me everything’ Bryan Torres voices how if he wasn’t an immigrant then his outlook on life and his mindset might be totally different. You got to make it ‘through the chaos, through the flames’.
We end the song with a head moshing banging breakdown that I can only imagine goes down with power at on of their live shows. I can’t help but think of the break down on Pantera’s ‘Domination’. Powerful stuff.
My number one pick from this album has to be ”Limousine”.
Throbbing like a heart beat throughout. My face cant help but go into that scrunched up position when the vibes just hit. And those down tuned guitars just seep right into your veins. Giving me the feeling of a track that ‘Idles’ could have written, this track hits hard and touches on the false bullshit we tend to see on social media and through the eyes of celebrities. ‘You see them lying on movie screens’. Bringing it back even more to that feeling of anxiety and the heartbeat taking over, we get a drop with that bass drum pulsing. ‘Like a heartbeat pumping blood and I’m annoyed’.
When we hit the middle section of the album we are greeted with a beautiful piano sound played by Jhon Reyes. Showcasing their amazing talent as song writers and also as musicians, we get to hear some sweet singing by Bryan Torres too who definitely has some pipes on him.
I miss the good ol’ days says Torres and I am right there with ya mate. Memory Hotline is like a ‘Fuck You’ to anxiety creeping up on you when you feel you are just not in the right place and cant stop looking back on times past. ‘Time won’t turn back, Leave the minutes in the past. Swallows me whole can’t ever let go’. We can all relate to this song on so many levels, which is why you will find yourself screaming along with the catchy chorus and the images it provokes of missing the good ol’ days.
The title track ‘Cold World’ is another one for the screamers up the front chanting away to the ‘Cold world’ something’s gotta give you know’. With some backing vocals from the rest of the band members, we get some ‘Ahhhaa’s to sing along with, which heightens the track to another level.
Overall, there are some proper bangers on this album and I’m thankful to have been exposed to it as I will for sure be checking out future gigs when these boys come to Dublin.
And with the ethics that the band is working off and their views on the world from a political stand point, they will certainly be a hit with a big percentage of the island.
However, although the album starts with great promise and I have some tracks which I will have on repeat, it tends to almost lag towards the end and some tracks just don’t hit hard enough to be memorable. It’s still a recommended listen in my opinion.
Cold World is out now via Epitaph records.
Reviewer – Carl Foran