Death Before Disco

These Belgians succeed where many bands fail when trying to move effortlessly from one genre convention to another, and while the result still sometimes falls flat, it ends up sounding pretty fucking awesome more times than not. The record opener, "Etireno,” for instance, kicks things off with a big, heavy metalcore introduction, and moves into a verse that echoes the quieter, stranger moments of At the Drive-In, before exploding into a Coheed and Cambria-style chorus replete with bizarre falsetto backing vocals. The band ape Refused a few times, and then moves into big, catchy choruses that one could never imagine coming out of Refused’s collective mouth. The constant shift from one style to another drags on a little towards the disc’s end, but it’s refreshing to hear a band that is making an earnest attempt at something a little new and a little uncomfortable.