Music for the Recently Deceased

Album Review

Having an interesting name can grab one's attention, but actually keeping it is another matter. No one can accuse I Killed the Prom Queen of not having a memorable name, but what about their music? Music for the Recently Deceased is a generally decent example of the screamo style, which has also been called post-hardcore or melodic hardcore. Whatever one calls the style, its basic ingredients are the same: extreme vocals contrasted with clean vocals, brutal metalcore-influenced assault contrasted with melodic sensibilities — and to say that there has been a glut of screamo bands in the 21st century would be an understatement. Screamo is an extremely crowded field — crowded as a London Tube train leaving the Piccadilly Circus station in the middle of rush hour on a Friday afternoon, to make a Dan Rather-ish comparison — and faceless, soundalike screamo bands are not hard to find. But Music for the Recently Deceased, although not exceptional, is a cut above much of the competition — which is something that lead singer Edward Butcher can take some of the credit for. Butcher often provides a tortured, agonized, metalcore-style scream (guitarist Jona Weinhofen provides the clean vocals), but Butcher's extreme vocals can easily detour into a deep, guttural death metal-ish growl or a wicked black metal-ish rasp. There is no question that this Australian outfit is a screamo/melodic hardcore/post-hardcore band first and foremost, but they are a screamo/melodic hardcore/post-hardcore band with an obvious awareness of death metal and black metal. That doesn't make I Killed the Prom Queen unique — there are, to be sure, other screamo bands with death metal and black metal influences — but at least these Aussies don't adhere to the screamo rulebook quite as rigidly as the more generic screamo units. Although somewhat uneven, Music for the Recently Deceased has more ups than downs and is a cut above many of 2006's screamo releases, and never let it be said that I Killed the Prom Queen isn't a cool name for a band.