If I Die Today – The Abyss in Silence (Review)

This is the fourth album from Italian hardcore band If I Die Today.

If I Die Today play hardcore with lashings of sludge and post-metal, resulting in a post-hardcore whirlwind of violence and catharsis. Across eight tracks the band demonstrate their ability in no uncertain terms. The Abyss in Silence is a 23-minute underground gem.

The album may be brief, but it has plenty to offer. This is music for fans of aggression that has depth of purpose and a dark, emotive delivery. Heavy, uncompromising, and short-lived, the music is a crushing display of potency from a band that clearly know where the pointy side of the blade lies.

However, there’s more to The Abyss in Silence than simple viciousness. The band’s abrasiveness is offset by nuanced songwriting and in particular the choice of riffs; brutality and harshness for their own sake are definitely a part of the If I Die Today experience, but only a minor one, as these songs are surprisingly emotive and imbued with feeling. Driven by sludge intensity and hardcore rage they may be, but they also have taken post-metal’s sense of emotional engagement and depth to heart.

Due to the above, the shades of melody, colour, and light that can be found enriching the music’s core of bleak heaviness are vital to the album’s success. This aspect of If I Die Today is what allows the music to become more than simple aggression; the band use emotive delivery like a weapon, and they know how to use it.

The Abyss in Silence is a powerhouse of passionate intensity and well-crafted compound aggression. Accomplished, professional, and high in impact, The Abyss In Silence is a real treat for fans of expressive violence.

Very highly recommended.