Band:	Worth Dying For
Album:	Tears And Ashes
Style:	Melodic death metal, Progressive death metal
Release date:	December 14, 2011
A review by:	BloodTears

01. Haunted
02. The Drawing Of The Three
03. The Killing Sound
04. They Speak In Wavelengths...
05. Of Glorious Remains Pt. I - The Poisoned
06. Scorched Earth Policy
07. Drowning In Whispers
08. Virgin Black
09. Bloodwork
10. ... And We Answer In Shockwaves
11. Chameleon
12. Of Glorious Remains Pt. II - Fading Lights

It is not easy to take on Gothenburg metal these days so overpopulated as it is, especially if you want to produce something even remotely original but Canadian Worth Dying For have given it a go nevertheless.

While they absorb and interweave different metal genres, Gothenburg is the most prominent one. They sound like they come from Sweden and have grown up listening to the likes of In Flames and Soilwork and playing their covers in their garages. In fact, "Haunted", which kicks off the album, doesn't lie; it transports you immediately to that musical universe and is not too different from what you found in Sounds Of A Playground Fading.

The spin which this band introduces to that sound, though, is a combination of metalcore and progressive elements, which gives more variation to the songs and tries to break away from the usual formula found in these genres. However, it is easy to fall into certain traps like the extensive use of breaks, particular recurring sounds on keyboards and those typical Dark Tranquillity guitar exchanges. "Virgin Black" and "Chameleon" are examples of a band which sometimes is stuck in that box within an album which loses strength in the last few tracks.

On the bright side, the band uses clean vocals really well in a way that the listener will remember them. The vocals are very catchy, powerful and often the highlight of the songs and while growls/screams are also used, their impact is not the same, neither is the importance they obtain. The heavier side of the band allows for opportune changes in pace but their forte seems to be their gripping melodic strikes and the consistency of the songs.

In the end, you can look at it in two ways: considering the bad, the repetition and the "heard that before" feel which lingers in some songs due to the collage of other bands; or considering the good, which is the talent of the band for melody and their effort to find interesting musical structures. When you balance those two out, Tears And Ashes is actually a fun record, even though it doesn't bring to the table much that's new, from a band which is showing promise for the future.

Highlights: "Of Glorious Remains", "The Killing Sound", "Bloodwork", "The Drawing Of The Three" and "... And We Answer In Shadewaves".