Misc. Day – The Everlasting End

From the city of champions, Eternal Sleep reigns with an iron fist that attacks full-frontally without a shred of mercy. Their debut release, Dead Like Me is a rampaging powerhouse that smashes its way to the hearts and ears of mosh pits everywhere. While keeping the integrity of the sound, Eternal Sleep also changes the variables to include articles of the noise genre, sampling, and breakdowns that adds an additional layer of re-playability to an already outstanding record.

Eternal Sleep consists of Joseph Sanderson on the vocal aspect, delivering on the guitar is Travis Bennington, on bass is Ben Duty, and behind them is Colin Bennington on the percussion. Together, Eternal Sleep is a quad-headed monster of aggression that perpetually continues on a forward march. From the start of Dead Like Me, Eternal Sleep instantly launches into a flurry of furious intentions as “Small Talk” asks a simple question before sprinting into the music. As soon as “You ready?” leaves the lips, Eternal Sleep wastes no time in bringing in the rush of grinding strings, pounding percussion, and screams that make Dead Like Me, a punishing record from start to finish.

Incredibly angry, incredibly forceful, but also incredibly exciting; Eternal Sleep makes quick, but ultimately substantial use of the eleven-minute run time. From the sudden transition to the following track “Speak : Not Speak,” Dead Like Me also makes a use of transitioning the sound from a blitzing assault, to more of a slowed, but still deadly following. “Speak : Not Speak” uses a large focus on the vocals coming from Sanderson and continues to make another focal point on the chorus where Eternal Sleep shouts in unison “Fuck You… I never loved you.” As if a band could project a middle finger through music, Eternal Sleep switches into a bone-crunching breakdown that finally brings silence to the otherwise overtly style of play.

As the self-titled track “Dead Like Me” starts, it is met with feedback on Travis Bennington’s guitar and a sample of the (1980) movie Altered States, in which character Eddie Jessup begins, “I was in that ultimate moment of terror that is the beginning of life. It is nothing. Simple, hideous nothing. The final truth of all things is that there is no final truth…” Eternal Sleep also samples the (1985) film Brazil in which the character Mrs. Lowery explains, “Of course you want something. You must have hopes, wishes, dreams…” to which Sam Lowry replies, “No, nothing. Not even dreams!” This is the catalyst that brings in the final leg of Dead Like Me.

Ending with an atom bomb of proportions, Eternal Sleep screams, “Rest In Peace” and delivers on all fronts; a punching grind that uses different vocal layers, changes in the percussive play style, and a consistent hammering of the strings. As Dead Like Me comes to an unfortunate close, Eternal Sleep reminds not only Pittsburgh, but the world of hardcore why they are an unstoppable force of nature. The final breakdown of agony that delivers the inevitable silence is more brutal and more crushing than anyone could prepare for.

Listen to Dead Like Me Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes