+//- (Polarities)

Everyone Dies in Utah, well that’s a name that stands out, not sure yet if I like the name but it’s different. And so is the title of their album +//- (Polarities). As far as the music goes in being different like the odd name and mathematical symbols name to the album, it’s not. What Everyone Dies in Utah has created in their music are songs that have a lot of hardcore metal/grudge music mixed with moments of alternative rock/pop. Nothing that hasn’t been done many times before, in fact most of the hardcore metal includes moments where the vocals stop the screaming for some normal levels of grudge music.
When the first song, “Factor X”, started I liked the intro, with that beep in the back ground, the almost static sound of what I feel would be sounds heard in a space shuttle cockpit, that it caught my attention for those first 26 seconds. It’s on second 27 that I get that jolt of surprise when the loud, screaming vocals kick in. I was ill prepared for the sudden loudness of the vocals, especially since I turned up the volume on my radio about 10 seconds into the opening so I could hear it, making the screams of Danny Martinez a little too much to take in at first. These screaming vocals are alright, I’m sure it’s taking a lot to do that much high volume screaming, but I just couldn’t understand 90% of what he was screaming. When the vocals go away from the screaming to a normal level of vocals the lyrics are clear, even, and well sung. Those clean, clear vocals are done by the other member Justin Yost, who brings in some meaning to the songs, until the screaming kicks back in and I loose any trace of understanding I had.
At times I wasn’t liking the loud yells that Danny Martinez was doing but his ability to do all that screaming without his voice cracking is well done. Even when the songs are a lower key with the normal vocals of Justin Yost, the songs pack quite a punch. There’s a high intensity to the beats of the songs that give them so much energy. Hardcore metal/grudge is not my most liked genre of music but when I find some that are well sung, with instrumentals that have just as much influence to the songs as the vocals, then I’ll happily listen to it and the album Polarities by Everyone Dies in Utah has fulfilled that. The instruments are played with quick beats that are catchy and made me want to pound on the desk as I listened to the drums but more importantly they are neither drowning out the vocals nor are they being run over by the vocals. Polarities might have a lot of screaming, it might not be new or breaking boundaries with it’s sound, but what it does do and have is good beats, catchy rhythms, high level vocals, and enough energy to fuel a body to move.