- Country: United States
- Style: Metallic hardcore / Metalcore
- Label: Epitaph
- Release date: 6 March 2012
Joe Barresi produced Ex Lives, and you can hear the decision in the first ten seconds of “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space”: the guitars are thick and warm, closer to a stoner record than a hardcore one, and the whole band sounds like it’s playing in the same room. The album debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, a remarkable number for a record this unruly.
What makes it work is how the band keeps finding a hook inside the chaos. “Typical Miracle” is over almost before it starts and still has a chorus you’ll be shouting by the second listen. “Revival Mode” slows into a swampy, almost Southern-rock groove, and “Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow” swings like a bar fight. The lyrics are bleak, funny and very quotable, often in the same line.
Not every track lands – the middle stretch blurs a little – but the album is short enough that it never outstays its welcome. Loud, smart, and more fun than most metalcore released that year.
Best tracks:
Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space
Typical Miracle
Revival Mode
Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow
Author’s rating: 8.0/10
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