Young and in the Way - When Life Comes to Death

Artist: Young And In The Way
Album: When Life Comes to Death
Year: 2014
Rating: 76/100

Now this is exactly what I'm talking about: hardcore punk with guitar riffs so dirty that you'll need to take a shower the minute you've heard them, coupled with filthy blood-curdling screams that wouldn't be at all out of place in the realms of the old Norwegian black metal masters themselves. North Carolina quartet Young and in the Way approach "When Life Comes to Death" with as little subtlety as possible, and as a result come up with something that will blow the listener's face off the minute "play" is hit.

"Betrayed By Light" sets the tone for the entire album with a scream of "When life comes to death!", and then the listener is hit in the face without even a second for any respite by Young And In The Way's sonic arsenal. The other immediately striking thing is how seamless every transition between tracks is, with "Fuck This Life", "Be My Blood" and "Self Inflicted" as cohesive as they are brutal. Similarly, "Shadow of Murder", the only track that offers even the slightest respite to the listener's senses, leads into the nine minute epic that is "Embrace Extinction", which also happens to be the album's closing track, with the same cohesion and coherence.

"When Life Comes to Death" is not a record that will be enjoyed by everyone. However, it will be appreciated and enjoyed by the right audiences with its heady combination of brutality, venom and incisiveness. You'll have trouble finding a record that will assault your senses in quite the same way as this one will.

Track List

1. Betrayed By Light
2. Fuck This Life
3. Be My Blood
4. Self Inflicted 
5. Loved and Unwanted
6. We Are Nothing
7. Final Dose
8. Weep in My Dust
9. Take My Hand
10. Shadow of Murder
11. Embrace Extinction