#equal visions

Living Dead (Single) - For All I Am

7.7 out of 10

For All I Am have been my little secret since 2009, or 2010. They called themselves I, Artificial back then. The band actually sent me a three song EP they recorded before their management asked them to change their name. Two of these songs were never released for sale and the track "Eyedentical" eventually appeared on their debut EP Lone Wolf.

This Chicago quintet had an imaginative way about them to create wide ambiance, brutality and groove, along with heart felt clean melodies. While the tools FAIA used in recording and song writing were similar to their peers the result far surpassed the results of others. When they signed to Equal Visions in 2011 FAIA found a perfect marriage to let the seeds they planted grow and mature.

As the year turns, these fruits will begin to ripen with their debut album Skinwalker dropping January 22nd. To preview the new album For All I Am present "Living Dead" their first single. At first listen I found nothing new from the band. It sounds very standard however I found it to grow on me after each listen. Vocalist Aria Yavarinejad certainly improved his skill set with a killer mid-range and screeching cleans, fitting for their emotionally dramatic sound. 

For the music itself, "Living Dead" rolls with plenty of breakdowns at the onset of the track. The first minute or so show cases the refined vocalist I mentioned before. FAIA repeat their verse/chorus section several times to pulse powerfully intensity into the mind and ear. I like how they use it as a center point to try varying up connected sections. Towards the end, they have a mellow melodic segment that fellows up the chorus. Unfortunately the song ends with yet another breakdown which I found brutally boring and generic.