LIFES
Treading Water

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LIFES tie the elements that they do present together in what remarkably turns into a forceful story of climbing some foreboding mountain of pain. Their heaviness is experiential — they don’t sound like they’re trying to bring attention to themselves as much as they’re working to crystallize their vision of heavy, pounding chaos, letting their music blossom on its own into some deeply intriguing and affecting ghastly beast. Their music feels like an expression of the thunderstorm raining down in the neighborhood that’s been forgotten by higher-ups and passed over for development opportunities; it’s the heavy music of the people, getting straight to the point. Many of Treading Water‘s 18 songs don’t even crack the three minute mark — and yet, within those comparatively brief confines, the band deliver an inescapably thick dose of mayhem that’s been turned into a powerful rallying cry.

” Caleb R. Newton

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Our song today is “Unsedated Suffocation”, a 55-second descent into powerviolence grinding goodness. Immediately this track slams down a hammer of pure grinding rage. And there’s little preparation for it. The track comes slamming in with some killer bass and proceeds to grind its whims down to the bone. It’s pure blasting grind glory that descends into a broken down powerviolence kick. It’s the kind of track that makes people go wild in the pit. One minute circle pitting, the next fighting. It’s an excellent intro for the album that will leave you ready for more. So be on the lookout and get grinding on this.

” Christopher Luedtke, Metalinjection.net

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Made up of 18 short tracks, Treading Water packs one hell of a punch. The dynamic back and forth shouting match between Dave and Zak mean there’s never a dull moment, and each song seems like it’s close to boiling over into uncontrolled rage. The absence of a guitar player means plenty of low end, giving them a more massive sound than what you find with other bands in the genre.

” Bryan Coffey

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Considering the subject matter at hand, it makes a lot of sense that Treading Water is a chaotic affair. Utilizing only a bass guitar, a drumset, and dual vocals, Dave Rudnik (bass/vocals) and Zak Holochwost (drums/vocals) manage to conjure an overwhelming cacophony of squeals, feedback, blips, booms, crashes and bangs to go with their punkish grind. Most songs fall under the two minute mark, and half of those under one minute, for a total runtime of twenty-four minutes. This is a short, visceral, emotional journey across the toughest aspects of the modern human experience.

” TheKenWord, AngryMetalGuy.com

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It is very seldom that an album hones in on and executes thematic leanings so goddamn accurately, and this is the true strength of LIFES. The crushing quote which ends the album--”It takes time, I guess. It’s hard, but it’ll probably get better one day.”--provides an absolutely pivotal and weighted moment. It hurts. It really actually hurts, and that's something few albums under this genre umbrella come even close to achieving. To elicit such a visceral and untamed emotional reaction deserves appreciation and applause. While the songwriting can stand to be fleshed out, LIFES are working with a hell of a lot, and I'm very excited to see where they are headed. In the meantime, Treading Water comes recommended from this (emotionally wrecked) Villager.

” SleepingVillageReviews.com