Away From Life : https://www.magazine.awayfromlife.com/wake-the-dead-still-burning-review-2020/

I know Wake The Dead as my absolutely favorite song of my favorite Canadian hardcore band. But I never heard of Wake The Dead from France so far. How is that possible? The quintet from Marseille has been around since 2010. And in these ten years they made sure to spread their music everywhere: With 340 shows in more than 30 countries – almost every European country – Asia and Cuba – they already shared the stage with bands like Sick Of It All, Propagandhi, Anchor, More Than Life, Birds In Row and Being As An Ocean.

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And despite several personnel changes Wake The Dead always stayed true to their energetic modern hardcore style. With Still Burning they are now releasing their third album in co-production with APB Records, Burdigala Records, Engineer Records, Eternalis Records, Shield Recordings, Sleepy Dog Records and We Are Sharks Records. Only eight songs, but you can be sure that Wake The Dead pack at least twice as much energy in it.

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You easily recognize the role models, Comeback Kid and their brutal but melodic hardcore that gave the band its name. Nevertheless Wake The Dead developed their own style: A bit more European, in other words a little more rough. Anyway, they deliver melodic but brutal hardcore: angry, energetic, sometimes painful or reproachful but always dashing forward.

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The first beats are the last carried ones you are going to hear for the rest of the album, which won’t stop pushing forward. Still Burning is so angry and intense that you are carried away in a wild ride from song to song. And yet, there’s no uniformity. The songs are quite versatile, with numerous rhythm changes, with gang shouts and well-dosed melodic parts.

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Track 2, An Eye for an Eye, is particularly varied. Chaos and hellfire are awaiting us in All My Flames. The drums obviously try to overtake themselves while the voice is shaking you to the core.

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Lone Wolf allows us a short breather at least for the guitars. Compared to the other songs it sounds almost epic and sweet.

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For the rest of the record, Wake the Dead are raging like berserks. Angry and with decent speed, they continue in the style of their namesake, especially in Track 5, Back for More. Hard to imagine how Wake The Deadwould play this set in one go.

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Track 6, Still Burning, escapes from the rest of the album with a sound recording of the movie The Great Dictator – a bit too much of a cliché for my taste. If you’re already having a few years on the hump, you know this speech almost by heart. The lines „More than machinery we need humanity …“ have already been used in so many albums of bands with a socio-politically message. And above a bit more skilful. Instead of starting a song or being a fade-out, the recording here is incorporated as a separate track and has little effect on the rest of the album.

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But at least we get the opportunity for a short breather before the album is regaining speed. Still Burning is followed by Paradise, a varied, strong song, with shouting, gang shouts, rhythm changes and even a ska-like offbeat. And even with Own Identity, Wake The Dead don’t go slack.

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Still Burning is literally burning from start to finish and is hardly giving you a chance to catch your breath. Furious guitars that mow everything away, a grumbling bass and pushing beatdowns, in combination with the powerful screams create a modern hardcore swashbuckler. The lyrics certainly don’t win a poetry award, but the focus is clearly put on another point. Rhythmic, pushing and with overwhelming energy this is finest mosh pit material.

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After Giver’s masterpiece this year, Still Burning is another contender for the title 'Most powerful European Hardcore album of the year'.

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Thoughts Words Action : https://thoughtswordsaction.com/2020/03/15/wake-the-dead-still-burning-lp-various-labels/

Wake The Dead is a modern hardcore group hailing from Marseille, France. The band is widely known because of their working ethic, constant touring, and very impressive discography that includes releases such as The Things We Can’t Forget, Meaningless Expectations EP, and Under The Mask. These experienced musicians are presenting another excellent record comprising eight melodic hardcore hits that could easily pair to even bigger names in the genre. Still Burning blasts with remorseless energy, which has been saturated with multiple sonic wonderments, mainly composed of thoughtful arrangements and exceptional musicianship. The group solely relies on compelling guitar shreddings, which have been precisely submerged under magnificent melodic sequences. Both guitar channels have been equally polarized, so every notable sonic implementation is more than hearable throughout the entire album. These guitar dualities certainly create such an energetic atmosphere, but they also provide a lot of opportunities for various low-end maneuvers, performed through a high variety of catchy basslines. Nothing would sound so compact without vigorous drumming performance, which certainly delivers another perspective on the entire record. The vocals are enhancing the overall listening experience with gracious servings of ferocious screams. This particular singing technic plays the main role and acts as a centerpiece among presented instrumentations. Each composition has been thoughtfully arranged according to some modern hardcore standards. Wake The Dead possesses all the qualities of the contemporaries on the current worldwide hardcore punk scene, but I find their ideas more interesting, mainly because of their abilities to compose catchy melodic hardcore songs that burst with lots of dynamics without losing elements of greatness along the way. Still Burning comes with an astonishing artwork of lionesses biting the giant griffin, while the flames are approaching from all the sides. This piece of art itself is such an awesome addition to a brilliant recording that will certainly place this great French hardcore punk band to the top. Still Burning has been published on a standard black vinyl record and compact disc housed in a jewel case. The record has been published in a collaboration between Shield Recordings, Eternalis Records, We Are Sharks Records, Engineer Records, Sleepy Dog Records, Burdigala Records, and Asso Page Blanche Records. Grab your weapon of choice and enjoy some quality melodic hardcore punk.

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Mangorave : https://mangorave.blogspot.com/2020/05/album-review-wake-dead-still-burning.html

Today, I'm introducing you to "Still Burning", the third longplayer by Marseille-based Modern Hardcoreband Wake the Dead. This powerload was released on March 2, 2020 and contains twenty minutes of intense intense, brachial, melodic and emotional sounds. Besides streaming and the digital release "Still Burning" is available on CD and vinyl.

The French quintet begins their new album with the strong opener 'Giving up' and immediately makes clear what to expect on "Still Burning". Melodic Hardcore with emotional content, dark harmonics, brachial riffing and versatile rhythms create the soundscape of the eight tracks. The transition from Post Hardcoreto Modern Hardcore is fluent on this one. The music Wake the Dead present on their newest release is a bit less halting and more straightforward than many Post Hardcore albums though.

The content presented in the lyrics is very relatable in contemporary society. As desolation, isolation or insecurity can lead either to depression ('Giving up') or blind rage 'An Eye for an Eye'), Wake the Dead begin to describe these feelings with their first tracks.

Going on, the band encourages people to gather their forces from within, so they can rise from the ashes like a phoenix ('All my Flames'). This re-invention of self often needs a clear cut which often has to be alone, and probably will mean breaking with old, toxic habits and peers ('Lone Wolf').

Once you're rebuilt and gained old strength again, you'll be 'Back for More'. Hand in hand with companions, full of hope and the power of a collective mind, you'll be ready to tear down the walls of oppression, injustice and segregation.

This is the part of the album where positivity starts to kick in. The powerful 'Interlude' is a call for action that we can make this world a better place where people can be free and live in peace. But first, we'll have to fight for this freedom. And damn, Wake the Dead, you convinced and encouraged me!

Post-Interlude, the call for action gets intensified. Talk less, act now is the message of the song 'Paradise'. Yes, we've all been kicked out of Eden, but is there any reason why we shouldn't make this godforsaken world a better place on our own?

And wat good is insincere individualism in a world we can only improve if we all stick together? The final song 'Own Identity' is dealing blows against plastic self-expression without any contribution to real improval. Damn right, rights and freedoms were fought for and we're better off than ever before, but are we finished, yet? We're still in this together and the struggle for a better future isn't over by a long stretch. We're "Still Burning" for more!

As much as music-wise "Still Burning" is clearly a Hardcore album, the contents are so Punk Rock.

Musical motifs partly remind me of bands such as Comeback Kid, boysetsfire or Strike Anywhere. From time to time, the Dark Hardcore of artists like Hang the Bastard shines through, too.

By any account this album is powerful output. Melodic, intelligent, intense and emotional. What a brutally beautiful call for action!

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