Life - Demo Three

Labels: Self-Released/I.Corrupt Records/Larry Records/Polar Summer/Voice Of The Unheard Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Digital/Tape/Vinyl

Release Date: 14 Mar 2020

Tracklist:

1. Ametic

2. Paroxis

3. September

4. Lluvia

It's Monday night, I've just moved through three day weekend that ended with sun (albeit fleeting), fun and family beers/a bbq thrown in for good measure. It's quite apt then that I'm writing about a band called Life tonight, especially given the drag back down to earth I've felt today (thanks day job!). I don't know a great deal about this release other than that it was self-released by the band in 2020, before Russian label Polar Summer did a tape release of it about a year later. It's come to my attention now because Zegema Beach Records along with I. Corrupt Records, Larry Records and Voice Of The Unheard Records recently committed it to vinyl. To date Life has released five demos and an LP.

This demo seems so fitting for this evening and despite not knowing a huge amount about the band, opener ‘Ametic’ sounds right up my street with a heady mix of emo, hardcore and super intense vocals. From doing some research Life may have a link to Sadness (which is utterly welcome if so!) but even if not, this is totally great anyway. 

I really needed music like this after a bit go a shit week in my day job last week. The beauty and majesty of the melody that opens ‘Paroxis’ leads into something altogether more life-affirming when Life’s full intensity hits. The vocals sound more like chorus/gang screams, which are semi-clean and full of volume. The percussion and guitar work is spot on all the time and given that this song stretches way beyond twelve minutes, that’s no mean feat. Introspection isn’t far away as the song’s mid-point shows, but the volume ratchets up once more as the full band’s sound grows ever better.

‘September’ is one of those songs that starts off slowly before picking up pace quickly, exploding into an extreme (almost black metal-like) concoction that bristles with so many other influences. The clean vocals seem to sit on top of everything else when they’re allowed to, as similarly the instrumentation does towards the end. 

Demo closer ‘Lluvia’ features the slowest of slow builds that’s also so chill. Emotional is definitely the word for this. It has got some comparisons to it that I won’t mention here, as there’s really no need too, but what I will say is that as a whole this song is truly beautiful and a great way to end the release. 

This demo clearly passed me by when it was originally released, so I’m thankful that CanaDave at ZBR brought it to my attention recently. Life is way more than just an emo/hardcore band. If the lineage is true, Life will surprise you with the rest of their output so far. Brilliant!

You can stream and purchase Demo Three digitally from Life below:-

Physical copies can be purchased from the labels below:-

I.Corrupt Records - https://www.icorruptrecords.com/products/life-demo-3-12-lp

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://voturecords.com/product/life-demo-three-12/

Zegema Beach Records CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/life / US - https://zbrusa.com/collections/zbr-releases/products/life

I.Corrupt Records - https://www.facebook.com/icorruptrecs

Larry Records - https://www.facebook.com/larryscrammo

Polar Summer - https://www.instagram.com/polarxsummer/

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://www.facebook.com/voturecords

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords