TOO PURE TO DIE – Confess

Does the same formula for songs always work out for bands? Sometimes it does but sometimes it does not. When you want to continue your band’s spirit and keep marching forward with your influences, there are much better ways to make it so. Too Pure To Die presents some powerful stuff with a lot of tough attitude but every number in their new album, Confess, sounds almost identical to the other.

The young band from Des Moines, Iowa, the place where Slipknot started out, came to life in 2004 by its guitarist Jordan Peterson. This group is deeply into Hardcore music along with strong ties to New American Metal like Shadows Fall and Slipknot for that matter. In 2006, under Sumerian Records, the band recorded and released its first album, Confidence And Consequence. A year later, the band underwent a small substitution in its lineup. A new vocalist, Paul Zurlo from the band Beyond All Reason, took the mic along with the band’s existing lineup. Later that year the band signed a contract with their current label, Trustkill Records, and its first album was released under it the same year. Near the end of 2008, the band recorded their latest release, which will be discussed here, Confess, and for 2009 they gave it to you Metal fans.

Too Pure To Die have it all, they have the talent – A good vocalist, explosive drummer, two pair of decent axemen and a bass player that won’t let down, they got a really powerful production, which was made by the loving hands of Zeuss and Hatebreed’s vocal man, Jamey Jasta, and they got their road carved up for them towards great accomplishment.

But one thing is forgotten – Guys what about the material? Confess could have been a better release if the songs were not repeating themselves one by one. If you listen to this release deeply it will drive you nuts. There is no doubt that there are charging kick down riffs here, which is always fun to hear and to bash someone’s head to the wall with, but in every song it’s over and over and over, until all you have left is to make predictions on where the next kick down will be.

Take for example, “Confess” and “My Vow” . These two songs come right after another, but you would have to be very focused to notice that you are listening to the next one because their music is so identical. It is sad because “Confess” is full of good songs with pounding riffs and a great kick down – but you can’t use the same motif a 1000 times, right? Besides the rhythms, even the vocal melody, you can partly call it melody, which is almost the same in every song. Something saves the howling of Zurlo, which are not that bad; it is just that he sings in the same fashion all the time, as are his clean vocals, that are full of potential.

“Confess” is a good song but only a few follow its footsteps and these others are not “state of the art” tunes but they are certainly powerful ones.

“One True Thing” sounds like many others but it has some major good grooves and a good kicker along with great clean / raspy sections out of Zurlo’s voice. “Trial” is a slower beater than the others but it’s equally heavy and crushing, sounds more like a Metalcore number with another kick down (boy it won’t stop). “Rock Bottom” is a nice one with a nice chorus but the same music goes around it.

Metal fans do know that Too Pure To Die can be a lot better than this. They have the best tools in the house to make a much better release. This one says – make a good crushing Hardcore or Metalcore, whatever, but don’t repeat yourself to death because there are ears listening. Good luck dudes.