Fear Is Dead

Fear is Dead, born in a garage experiment in 2011, is a new breed of indie rock, stemming from hip-hop roots and mixed with 90's grunge metal. With brutally honest and heartfelt lyrics at a monotonous spoken-word, and gritty music behind them, Fear is Dead manages to bring back memories that are something mixed with Fred Durst, Presidents of the United States of America, and a few Nirvana-like riffs here or there.

Lyricist and lead vocalist Skila pulls no punches, whether it's a resounding chorus of "Take this job and shove it" in Labor Pains or a purposely dulled chanting in I'm Slow, he serves it up exactly how it is. With hip-hop producing and lyricist roots, he has an innately honest quality, whether it's raw anger or a hopeful message of growing as a person.

The other founding member, Jacqueline "Jax" Burns knows what she's doing, whether it's with a guitar or a bass. Add in drummer Moreno Brown, and they have a winning combination. The gritty Undead shows off exactly how well they all do together, with interesting drums and guitar, along with poignant vocals that show off their modern metal side.

A refreshingly new and somehow still retro style, Fear is Dead still have a rough spot in a song or two, but they are definitely a band to watch. Their message rings clear about standing up for what you believe in and not compromising. As their own lyrics say in Basement Penthouse, they're only going up.
- Round Magazine

Crossing styles and blending genres and sounds of music is a delicate act to balance. Even for those bands that venture out onto the tight rope and have come from other more well defined genres into this gray area, they are not always appreciated for taking the risk.

When sonic scribes write about bands that combine the sounds of grunge rock and roll, hip hop, and metal, those reading these words might not think these disparate sounds are really all that compatible.

Acts like the California based 311 did an enviable job of taking hip hop, pop, and jimmying it with more sonically heavy guitar in their heyday of the 1990's. Fans of darker, more electronic bands like Portishead and Massive Attack has successfully spawned off edgier sounds from some of their songs. But still these acts are popular among their fans but lack something of a broader contextual audience base in the west. So it's not easy. That is one of the reasons that this new release from Fear is Dead is interesting to consider.

Fear is Dead are a lineup who consider themselves born from metal, grunge and hip hop. Fear is Dead consists of Skila-(vocals/song writing), Jacqueline Burns (bass/guitar), Moreno Brown (drums), and Jake (bass). This band comes to the world from their roots in Flushing, New York and takes something of a backhanded "have a nice day" disposition to their band personage. Fear is Dead apologize to no one; nor should they have to.

This blending of sounds comes from the blending of the four band members. They are all here today and here of their own accord. They claim to love the music they love and are interested in slicing out their own corner of the musical context so that they are able to sonically stand out from the consistent same-ness of popular music.

However by being so "anti" they may just have tapped into the most familiar styles of what some could call their possible sonic influences.

One of the songs from their eponymous debut EP has something of a galloping Old-West feel to it. The rhythmic underpinning of Undead sounds like it's being recorded out on the open plains. Only the sliced electronic guitar arcs and driving lyric bring the listener back.

Basement Penthouse is another song which is as contrary as its title. The music wash paints the canvas like a sonic construction site. The vocal track though is very crisp and clean; evoking Cake's deadpan John McCrea. Maybe that's what the band was going for; sonic dissonance with clean vocals; but the end result is jarring for sure.

Another one of the EP's songs, I'm Slow, has all the makings of an alt rock radio hit. The musical peppering sounds like it was a throw away from The Day I Tried to Live while the gruff hip hop vocal sounded as though it could have been former House of Pain rhymer Everlast taking the mic.

Fear is Dead have a plan and just sound as though they need a little more tinkering to figure out exactly what they want their sound to be. It is good to hear though that all the new bands coming out have a mind and an opinion of their own and aren't just coming from One Direction.
- Yahoo Voices

Did you hear the good news? Fear is dead! That’s right, fear is gone, ka-poot, no more. Yes, we are free from fear! Okay, maybe not, I’m afraid it’s not true. I may have jumped the gun. Fear, the emotion, is still alive and well in the world. However, there is a band called Fear Is Dead and they’ve got an EP out under the same name.

Admittedly the EP has been out for a while, I’m behind the times, but I still wanted to give it a spin. And I’m glad I did, not just because I enjoyed the tracks laid down by this group, but because of the message they bring. I’ll probably get flak for this, but I think the passion and energy in metal music is too often misdirected. All too frequently the spotlight is on death and the End and skulls and blood. Sure, all of those are deep and important subjects, but, you know, sometimes I wish more bands focused their attention on the here and now, on living. We can be deep and powerful and still be working toward something positive, can’t we?

Well, Fear Is Dead seems to be answering my question with a resounding “yes”. Their central themes are taking responsibility for our lives, not letting fear rule us, saying what we mean, doing what we want and not turning away from our dreams. Their album is a surprisingly forward-thinking, in-the-moment, articulate compilation. Sometimes they come across as more of a rock band and there’s some material in the middle which begs to be classified as rap rather than metal, but the passion, the tone, drips with metal. The sounds produced on this album speak to me less than the lyrics — the clear and rapid-fire vocals are on point and speak of recovery, on trying in the face of overwhelming odds, of deciding not to be one’s worst enemy anymore.

The Fear Is Dead LP is short, just five tracks, and that’s all it needs to be. It got in, delivered its message and got out. It wasn’t perfect, it might not be the smoothest collection of tracks on the market, however it has one of the best messages. Definitely give it a listen, not just for the interesting instrumentals, but for the lyrics. It is an empowering piece of work.

You can learn more about the band Fear Is Dead from their website and be sure to check out their songs on Bandcamp.

Let me hear you!
Surdus - We Love Metal.com

Fear is Dead – FEAR IS DEAD
Self-released

On their eponymous five-track debut, NYC quartet Fear is Dead display a dynamic amalgamation of hip-hop and hard rock. Even though the rap-rock genre has been run into the ground, this squad adroitly avoids pitfalls from the past by combining a rash of tough as nails riffs (“Undead”), driving grooves from a monster rhythm section, and a strong and skillful flow on the microphone with a catchy and convincingly assertive cadence that meshes the imminence of Atmosphere with the earnest of Everlast (“Labor Pains”). Exhibiting solid compositions delivered with a confrontational sense of empowerment, Fear is Dead breathe much needed life into a fading style with a proper balance of head bobbing hard rock and brooding hip hop. www.fearisdead.bandcamp.com

Review by Mike SOS - Blog Dudes