Review: Inhale/Exhale
Band: Inhale/Exhale
Album: Bury Me Alive
Label: Solid State
Release Date: 10/6/2009
Genre: Metalcore
Rating: 
3.5/5
by Shane Stiles
Three albums into their career as Inhale/Exhale and the band is just now finding their stride as their guitarist John LaRussa said “this is the album we always wanted to write”. Well now it’s out and the world can view full force what these boys are capable of. Combining the sound and fury of The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred with the experimenting they did on I Swear…, the four piece hailing from Cleveland, OH is moving at a good clip running into the release of Bury Me Alive. Technical guitar virtuoso LaRussa has really outdone himself with this record.
Teetering to and fro from brutal chugging to complex/experimental riffing, held together by nearly mechanical drumming (in a good way), each song on Bury Me Alive offers something different. While “Condemned” is highlighted by large, bright melodic sections with clean shouts/screaming, “A Dark Place For Your Mind To Be” has hooks more derived from sing alongs and breakdowns. So goes the story of Inhale/Exhale. When looking for a record that doesn’t shy away from creativity, they will never fail you.
There is one draw back to Inhale/Exhale and it’s a bit of a mountain to overcome. With as many shifts as they make in their songs, the transitions on the album are a little rocky. It’s hard to make things flow like a hot knife through butter when you jump from complex guitar/drum work into a basic beat and melodic chords. This would have been the one thing they should have spent more time in the writing process on. When it comes to cranking out awesome tracks, these boys have it down. It’s just the connections and transitions that need a bit of patchwork.
Bury Me Alive is the band’s best work to date. There’s no doubting that. If you’ve never heard the band before, this is a great record to pick up. If you’ve been a fan, this will open your eyes entirely to what Inhale/Exhale can do.
Track Listing:01. Rooms
02. Did You Ever Have A Touch To Loose?
03. Condemned
04. Over and Out
05. A Dark Place For Your Mind To Be
06. Intentions
07. Explosions
08. Fiction
09. Better Her Than Me
10. Thin Black Lines
11. An Era
