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Since By Man!
We Sing The Body Electric (Revelation Records)
By: Vinnie Apicella
 "We Sing The Body Electric" holds significance as their debut full-length release for this Milwaukee maelstrom of metal-core mayhem seekers with the melodic guitar trills and aural air of tranquility. It's rare a young up and comer comes across this seasoned, but right from the opening notes of track two, literally a flood of fingers and notes to "Push The Panic," it's clear they're accustomed to their own way of doing things in spite of the popularity of the expansive Emo-Core genre that's seen it's share of border crossings and subcultural ascent. "We Sing The Body Electric" is a statement of seriousness in songwriting that side-steps the typically overboard expectation of wanna-be wankers and an album full of reprogrammed noise, slick scales and no real point or end in sight. It's like, how many times can we stretch a minor key progression, strum the strings dry and scream our asses off, stop start sixty beats per second and claim satisfaction; Or the in-vogue notion of distinction? Uh-- no. So you'll take a band like this with it's filtered fuzz wrapped around the clever scaling, harmonic unity, cut and run through three minutes of here, there, and everywhere song structures, mute the chords, and throw in a few quick laced arpeggios then damn it all, start reeling 'em off one by one by one, but what's changed? But I like Since By Man, and others like them - Underoath, Few Left Standing, Finch, Atreyu, even Shadows Fall or-- CKY. Plenty more where that came from but for every one, there'll be two or three resting uncomfortably in the home for abandoned bands who followed then fled. Neither of the latter two titles share much commonality but either of them are above the rest in their chosen field -- call it Thrash Metal, Death or Punk Rock, Progressive Punk, or whatever, they've made some amazing twists and turns in their style of play to put 'em ahead of many others still stuck on two or three song records sharing space with eight or ten other sleepers. Musically we're traveling down an emotional path littered with minor-key markings, thick riffing and open chorded passages of harmonic bliss and reactionary dissonance with an extra high gear meant for increased volatility in virtuosity -- summed up quite nicely in the stand out, "What's Your Damage." Overall there's an unexpectedly pleasing chemical reaction that gives rise to cleverly worded and volcanic tunes like "Light The Fuse And Get Away," the moody and effectual "Death And Decadence," or unexpected electrical vibe of the aesthetic "In Threes." To think, after going in fits and spurts through the first few tunes, I didn't even care to review the damned thing. And yeah, there's a good three or four heard it all before tunes that muddle the middle section, but it's the subtleties that suddenly become the dynamic drawing cards to comparatively short songs that are loosely themed, tightly wound, and listenably catchy without confounding.
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