CD review: "Bleed the King" by Death First

Buckley band Death First knows how to bring the heavy. They also know how to bring the melody.

Upon first listen, you would most likely compare Death First to Queens of the Stone Age. And you wouldn't be the first. That comparison runs rampant, and the song "Lobotomy on Speed" sounds like it could have come straight off Era Vulgaris.

"Bleed the King" starts off with a bang. The song "Clicking Tongues" is catchy, heavy and just all-around kick-ass. The second track, "Have You Found My Head Yet?," gets even heavier. James Resch's soft and smooth vocals combine with the brutal screaming of guitarist Doug Wohlfeil to create raw power and beauty.

The title track is my personal favorite, starting off with a driving beat courtesy of drummer Dane Hubber and keeps the feeling going with the guitars kicking in hard and heavy, with Wohlfeil's providing his own brand of backup vocals in the form of a gravelly scream. The song never lets up, kicking your ass for two minutes and twelve seconds.

"I Wanna Touch Yourself" brings things back down to reality, with what sounds like a lawnmower in the opening. The song itself is mellower than the previous track, with a groove of a verse which then slams into the chorus, with Resch repeating the sensuous "I want to touch yourself" until the song comes to a fantastic climax. Inuendo intended.

The album takes a drastic turn, right in the middle of the song "Nothing But Shadows." I find this a little disheartening, because this song starts off heavier than any other, with a near metal sound and the turn is unexpected and kind of kills the mood of the song in my opinion. However, it is a good segue towards the final song, "Eyes Lie," which can only be described as an electric ballad.

Overall, this is a great CD by a great band and they truly deserve more credit than they are getting. Apparently there are good things coming out of Buckley. Who knew?

http://www.myspace.com/death1st