生 Conform 死 // Circa '94 [Album Review]

Daniel Balcombe
May 19, 2018
4 min read

Band: 生 Conform 死

Release: Circa '94

Area: Perth

Date of release: 18 May 2018

Genre: Nu Metal

For Fans Of: Slipknot, Korn, Machinemade God

Next Gig: May 19th - Amplifier Bar - Album Release Mini Tour

"If you find Jesus, motherfucker, let me know Haven't heard his voice since 1994 All I hear is bitchin' about how you feel alone Blue eyed devil wolf by the Far West Door" - Blood Eagle

How have I not heard of 生 Conform 死 before? I jumped on writing this review because I really just wanted to write a bit more. Little did I know I was going to stumble on such a good band. I'll be honest, the sound they produce is what I grew up on - apart from the Punk music i loved I had a huge love for Nu Metal bands like Slipknot and Korn. My first impression of 生 Conform 死 was - Holy Shit - Slipknot are good again. In saying that I'm not trying to say 生 Conform 死 are ripping anyone off, they just do it so well it's crazy that I haven't stumbled on them previously. I'll be honest though I'm not as involved in the 'Metal' scene as I am in the 'Punk' scene but shit man, other people know about this band right? Oh and by the way the symbols 生 and 死 translate to 'Life / Live' and 'Dead / Die' respectively. LIVE CONFORM DIE, wicked right.

I was skeptical at first, cause I had no idea what I was going to be listening too. I assumed it was going to be your standard metal Aussie band, not that there is anything wrong with that, there are some serious Aussie Metal bands out there producing quality music but I wasn't expecting what I got. That's probably more my ignorance then anything else, at least I hope so cause man, 生 Conform 死 rock and this new album is a certified banger.

'Roman Holiday' sucked me right in. I had a Hip-Hop vibe going, which I was loving. Then BANG! The band kick in and what I was getting was a instant smile on my face realizing I was in for a hell of a listen. It's a great opening track and really had me ready to keep it going, and I was not let down.

It's hard for me to break down each individual track. To be fair, I could probably write A LOT of shit about it - good shit that is. The album is a true testament of how GOOD Nu Metal should sound. It's the right mix of Electronic elements, breakdowns and rapped, screamed and clean vocals along with thumping drums and bass with guitar licks that are HEAVY and CATCHY. There are some nice melodies tucked throughout the whole album, I'm a fan of the Clean Vocalist (not sure if it's one singer or not) but the cleans are perfect for the style they are producing. The musicianship on the album is top notch. The lads know what they are doing and they do it WELL. I love the production elements thrown in like at the end of 'Eat More Death' it goes off into a old timey song and it fucking rocks.

It's clear why 'Blood Eagle' was dropped as single earlier in April. It's a taste of what is to come from the album and features some badass lyrics that I fucking love. 'Vicious Thoughts' really came out of no where and it stuck out as one of my favourites on the album. I know that's weird cause it's under two minutes and really not what you expect from a Nu Metal band but it showcases the range of the lads and is a sweet little tune that got stuck in my head.

My favourite track on the album was 'Gaslight Sunset'. It's just a perfect example of all the elements of the band coming together. It's heavy, soft, electronic and fucking epic. On a album full of good tracks, it was the one that I heard and I went FUCK... let's play it again, and again.

The production quality is top notch on the whole album. Considering the amount of sounds they have going on it's amazing how much each cuts through and it's incredibly professional sounding, not one instrument over powers the next. It's easy to lose the bass in bands that have so much going on, but it's there and produces some sweet lines.

Overall my impression was weird. I honestly wasn't expecting what I got. I was expecting something along the lines of In Heart's Wake you know the more cookie cutter sound (I like In Heart's Wake but you get what I'm saying right?) I got the opposite. I got a album that was first and foremost - professional and not what you would expect. In today's metal scene bands produce breakdowns and clean vocals that are cheesy and rehashed over and over again (not all metal bands, but come on we all know it can get very cookie cutter) 生 Conform 死 aren't that, at least not to my ears. They produced a sound that came around in the early 2000's but made it better. That's a big call, I don't want to sound like a fanboy because to be honest I hadn't heard of them before I got to listen to this release but I am sure as hell happy I decided to give it a listen. Byron asked me a couple days ago what I thought of the album, I said "it was alright", well I think I lied a bit there. I sat down tonight with my headphones (after I put the kid to sleep) and really gave it a listen and shit man, it's not alright, it's fucking great.

You've got another fan lads, may not mean a lot but for this Punk listener you really brought me back to the days when I used to write Slipknot and Korn on all my school books and used to turn my nose up to the teachers who said it was 'tasteless'. I advise anyone who grew up in the time I grew up (late 90's early 2000's) to give this a listen, you will not be let down.