We’re All Gonna Die – Kiss the Ground, Curse the Sky – Review

wereallgonnadie200We’re All Gonna Die

Kiss the Ground, Curse the Sky (Underdogma)
By Scott Hefflon

Boston’s low-end heroes return with another bassy slab of metalized skit-kicker rock, like Clutch or Scissorfight. Now with Jase from Lamont, another fine Boston dirt rock band (R.I.P.), on bass. Swaggering guitarwork, slow, stalking drumming, churning bass, and strong vocals that hint at times of Danzig and others of Cornell have always made We’re All Gonna Die a personal fave. Kiss the Ground, Curse the Sky, like the previous two (Go to Hell and The Wreck of the Minot), contain an easy handfulla memorable tunes to belt out, learn on guitar, and slap your thigh to in the car. And like the previous two releases, there’s a lot of autopilot action going on. Many songs per album have the elements to make ’em rock, but something simply didn’t click and they wander somewhere nearby rockin’ territory, but just can’t work up the umph to storm the gate. The word “morose” comes to mind, because “introspective” hints at “quiet wanking and noodling” and while this sucker may shuffle toward Dax Rigg’s Deadboy and the Elephantmen’s blues-based laments, WAGD are “thoughtful” the way Nirvana was: With might and sorrow, an underlying, profound sadness, but no emo whining to be found. These bearded boys’d kick their own asses from Boston to NOLA and back for that offense.

Find ’em on iTunes or something, preview every track, download a third or a half of them, and you’ll have the greatest hits album We’re All Gonna Die hasn’t made yet. That may sound a little dismissive, but any band that’s got the goods to fill a greatest hits album with only three records to their name (and the first was their unsigned demo, I think, later picked up and released by Underdogma), that means good songwriting. And WAGD’s got that angle covered, jack.
(www.underdogma.com)