Live Suffer Die - A Voice from Beyond Death (2020) Hi-Res

LIVE SUFFER DIE is a Depressive Black Metal band based out of the USA and Italy. As guitarist Lance explains, “I had accrued some depressive music and lyrics that just didn't fit within BITTER PEACE or any of my other bands, and given my situation there is a real "authenticity" within every song, lyric, mood or anything regarding these songs. I felt there was so much "plastic" DSBM out there, many kids doing it because it is the next trend. I felt it was time to put something together that is genuine, it is real, it is not made up. So this is the result of such sessions, the writing process around these songs were brutal, reliving thoughts, moods and emotions and actually putting it down on paper and then trying to create music that captured the same ill feelings.” The album contains five tracks.

“14 Voices” opens the album, and it’s a lengthy song, clocking in at over 13 minutes. Drums roll and a dissonant and fuzzy guitar riff combines with muffled spoken words. The riff sound more in the Doom genre than the Black Metal genre. But those high pitched vocal screams remind you that this is, in fact, Black Metal. The riff changes a bit but those high pitched screams are torturous. “Fisted Aspirations of Sanctuary” is just over twelve minutes in length. It opens with light clean guitars, a slow lumbering pace, and solemn tones. I haven’t really heard much in the way of Depressive Black Metal and this is about as rich as you can get.

“Self Destructive Fiend” is over seventeen minutes in length. Tone of utter loneliness and desolation abound. The sound however is very similar to the previous two tracks. The drums keep an engaging, spellbinding routine and the riffs are in the background, while the focus is mostly on the vocal shrieks. All the negative emotions you want to push back into the recesses of your mind are very real and you can almost grab them. But the structure of the songs is not very organized. “Twin Witches of Ruin” is only ten minutes in length. A mesmerizing riff is met with enraged vocals and the feeling that the world is crashing down upon you. There is some variation in this track as well, and even a guitar solo. “Veins Wide Open” closes the album. It’s a lumbering song, with lead guitar notes that materialize as tears, a fitting ending to the heavy emotional burden of the previous tracks.

Heavy? Absolutely, and in many senses of the word. This is some of the darkest music I have ever heard, and I feel like I need to take a shower after listening to it. From the deepest and darkest parts of his very soul, Lance pulls out things that are barely whispered about…the kind of things you try to bury for life, lest you admit that you even think about them. The screams can shred you apart into little pieces. It goes far beyond torture. This is indeed very genuine Depressive Black Metal, as well as a genre I will stay away from for a little while, lest it drags me down with it.