Liberteer
Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

February 2012
Released: 2012, Relapse Records
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

Well what an interesting album this is! Liberteer are from California. and my first initial thought was ‘this is gonna be another typical grindcore/extreme death metal band’ but from the first track you hear other elements stuffed in there…such as; Melodic pagan/folk sounds, and is that a banjo I can hear?... Erm ok then!



It is also quite shocking to know that there is only one member Matthew Widener, who does all vocals/instruments which is pretty damn impressive, clearly showing off all this talents here! It no doubt this is a ferocious and totally unique death/grindcore direction, making it an interesting album. With 17 tracks I have to say I did nearly lose interest but the pagan/folk and melodic aspects kept me entertained and rather amuses at times. This is a great creation of Matthew Widener (Cretin, Citizen) which merges scathing anarcho-grind with triumphant passages and stirring riffs, with aggressive lyrics that are nothing less than total anarchy. The lyrics are very politically motivated and clearly having the message of ‘Burn the system down!’ I am still quite confused over this album…but I have to say I did really enjoy it, with every track bringing something different. Although I’m not entirely sure if all these elements of metal merge well together, but sometimes music is like cooking, you just need to chuck in all the ingredients that you love and hope it will turn out for the best!



I expect to see mixed opinions on this release but if you like your metal aggressive, raw with a side salad of melodic folk then go for it…even if you don’t like this genre it’s worth a listen due to the fact it’s just so different!



Review by: Jo Blackened