Band:	Dead To Fall
Album:	Villainy And Virtue
Style:	Metalcore
Release date:	October 2004

01. Torn Self
02. Bastard Set Of Dreams
03. Stand Your Ground
04. No Turning Back
05. Villainy And Virtue
06. Little Birds
07. Blood Of The Moon
08. Cross Section
09. Master Exploder
10. Epilogue

A lot of so-called metal elitists pride themselves with bashing metalcore. I'm not a big fan myself but the fact that big labels promote mostly mediocre bands doesn't mean the scene does not have noteworthy acts. I've come to think the metal scene is also plagued by generic and sub-par garbage.

Dead to Fall is a band that managed to capture my attention for a longer stretch of time. They borrow a lot from melodic death metal melody-wise but sound fresh enough. I would even go as far as saying that they sound more metal than most melodeath acts nowadays: straight to your face melody, no keyboard or similar drag-around wankery. On top of that they put certain screamed vocals I wouldn't call hardcore; they are rather distinctive as far as similar acts go. You usually get some annoying shrieks and even clean vocals in metalcore but in this record the vocalist relies mostly on a low scream however showing some range and change of pace at times. I could also mention the drummer is competent enough (machine gun blasts on 1:25 of "Bastard Set of Dreams!") even though this is no technical brutal death metal for sure. The bass is the most humble of all instruments but this goes without saying. Incidentally the band is able to afford good production this time around which could not be said about their first effort. To be honest I'm not particularly picky in this department having in mind the majority of my everyday ration is occupied by black metal acts with minimalistic production values.

As far as consistency goes the album is much stronger on the first half. The opener "Torn Self" is most probably the best song in the whole record: an anxious riff, a galloping section with sincere and catchy lyrics ("Torn between!"), a breakdown and so on. The second track is also among the strongest and possesses a set of huge breakdowns and insane swings. The following three tracks are very enjoyable as well the title track also being a standout. But unfortunately here begins the downfall as the second half is contrastingly weaker than the first: a filler interlude, an epilogue and three rather boring tracks leaning towards filler material. They're not completely useless because of several moments of interest but as mentioned before the first half of the record just outshines them.

The album cover requires some credit as well as it coveys the idea behind the music pretty well. The lyrics might sound a bit naïve at times but I find them to be sincere, that enthralls me at some extent. They are mostly about personal topics and advocate certain values most "oh-so-evil" kvltists will find unacceptable. Personally I have my own set of values and I'm not really bothered whether the band's values coincide with them or not. However sincerity is something I always respect, be it Darkthrone, or be it Dead to Fall. Long story short this record could have been better but is still a solid and enjoyable effort for open-minded listeners.