In a perfect world, Boy Sets Fire would be huge.
Instead of seeing ads, pictures and videos of Korn and Limp Bizkit, we would be inundated with the images and sounds of Boy Sets Fire. And oh, how glorious it would be to watch Boy Sets Fire go on MTV and beat the crap out of that annoying Carson Daly as they lived up to their name, setting the studio ablaze and impregnating Britney Spears. Ah, do I dare to dream?
One listen to After the Eulogy and you, too will envision the day when Boy Sets Fire replaces the clueless brand of faux-hardcore that's currently being hyped as cutting edge and oh-so-politically-minded. Any single song from this album is packed with more energy, more vision and more grit than anything Durst & Co. have ever done. After the Eulogy kicks off with its title track, a ferociously chugging call-to-arms in which vocalist Nathan Gray screams instructions for you to "Rise" -- and you figure you'd damn well better do it, or face his wrath. The group’s socio-political underpinnings come into focus on "When Rhetoric Dies", in which Gray chronicles the demise of the U.S shift worker over snarling, metallic guitars and a fiercely pounding rhythmic assault. While other groups are employing a political agenda for purely stylistic reasons, Boy Sets Fire have used After the Eulogy as a platform to actually discuss issues relevant and important to themselves and the world around them. Songs such as "Our Time Honored Tradition of Cannibalism" and "Twelve Step Hammer Program" come cased with politically vitriolic vocals, crushing guitars and the sort of thick rhythmic bombast that Rage Against The Machine only wish they could match.
Those of you disappointed with labelmates Snapcase’s new direction would be well advised to give this album a listen, as at times it evokes memories of the seminal Progression Through Unlearning.
Far from announcing their demise, After the Eulogy screams loud and clear that Boy Sets Fire are here to stay...and will hopefully compel you to start your own small revolution while they're at it.
