Burn Forever is the debut EP from Lowlives, who despite being a new band are far from inexperienced. Featuring former members of The Defiled, No Devotion and The Ataris it’s easy to understand why this band have already caught a lot of attention already
The EP opens with the title track, greeting us with some screeching feedback before the first riff blasts out. The grunge influence is undeniable and the band add in elements of punk and metal to give it a really aggressive feel. Lee Villains vocals are immediately captivating as well. There’s a bigger focus on his singing this time and his voice just has such a distinct sound. Fans of his previous work will no doubt be aware of his love for grunge and his vocals are just such a natural fit for this sound.
Black Hole builds to a ferocious middle section where Lee lets out some mighty impressive screams before the band hit the listener with a breakdown. Being the only one on the EP it makes a nice little change given how overused breakdowns can be. Thieves is when the band really let go, picking up the pace and just increasing the intensity. The EP closes with an acoustic version of the title track and just really highlights how good Lee’s singing is. Over the four tracks he shows a lot of versatility whether he’s screaming or singing, he completely nails it at every moment.
With only 3 songs and the acoustic track, this is a very small taste of what Lowlives have to offer but it is certainly enough to get excited over. Every member delivers here and whilst it isn’t the most original sound out there, the band still manage to keep things from ever sounding stale. Hopefully Lowlives will be able to build on this early promise and deliver big things in the future.
Burn Forever is out now on Death Culture Records.
