Better Lovers : " God Made Me an Animal"

 This super group features members of Every Time I Die and Fit For an Autopsy . Oh yeah and Greg Puciato is singing. If you miss the days when Dillinger Escape Plan was less prog and more about making metallic hard core then this album is going to be for you. Puciato is back to screaming. Sure there is some singing thrown in at times to make things flow as a song, but this is pretty much him going balls to the wall again. In recent years he has been flirting with things like new wave, so for him perhaps it's a needed catharsis. This is a four song EP so just a glimpse into what this project is capable of, but it seems to be pretty intent of rapid paced metal core. His scream has more personality than most of those who do this kind of thing. Is it heavily ripping off Mike Patton at times? Yes, but that is what he is about. 

"Become So Small" finds them dipping into Jesus Lizard like noise rock run through a filter of pcp crazed metal. I am all for letting it rip and getting spastic, but this does not have the same song focused dynamics as Dillinger did. Not that they have to be measured up against their former glory, but I think there is a fair expectation in that regard. They thrown down some mean break downs, but these guys are seasoned pros, so that should go without saying. It feels like they were so excited to be doing this sort of thing again that they just threw caution to the wind and let themselves get caught up in the moment. 

The title track wraps things up, aside from the first song this might be the most hook leaning number, There is more nuanced guitar as well once we get midway into things. It is almost like they knew they had to get into the bare minimum melody to appeal to fans that latched into those moments. If any other group of musicians did this it might sound like every other band doing this sort of thing. They succeed at letting their freak flags fly in a way that embodies personal identity, which in and of itself is enough to break from the status quo. I will round this down to a 9, which still puts it better than most bands that are trying to do similar.