Bury Your Dead

The old saying goes, If it doesnt kill you, it makes you stronger. That adage certainly applies to Bury Your Dead.

The Massachusetts band, featuring drummer Mark Castillo, vocalist Mat Bruso, guitarists Slim and Eric Ellis, and bassist Bubble, have broken up, gotten back together, gone through 14 band members and 9 tour vehicles (including buckets of bolts like a Hyundai Accent and a Kia Sefia), but theyre still together and their stronger than ever on their new album, Beauty And The Breakdown, which is easily their most focused effort to date. In the Bury Your Dead tradition, the music is heavier than granite, but the bands approach and collective attitude is light, fun and carefree. Thats what sets BYD apart from their peers, the fact that they do things you dont expect. They keep you guessing at every turn, either making you bob your head to their catchy melodies or making you mosh your brains out to their ferocious, infectious breakdowns. As Slim says, Its always down and dirty, hustle and bustle with Bury Your Dead. And that equals a damn good time.

While 2004s Cover Your Tracks featured song titles named after Tom Cruise movies, Beauty And The Breakdown doesnt name its song titles after Nicole Kidman movies, nor does it sound like its predecessor. Here, BYD named all their songs after fairytales, like Mirror, Mirror, House Of Brick, and House Of Straw. The albums artwork is laid out like a storybook, as well. Despite having such light, fun titles, the music contained on the moshable Beauty And The Breakdown is pummeling, vivid, and fast, and itll knock the wind out of you. But its also smart and tightly written. The drums sound like drums, and the guitar tone is ridiculous, says drummer Mark Castillo, who founded the band with Slim. Mat stepped up vocally and put everything he had into it.

Bury Your Dead, who enjoyed a slot on the Ozzfest 2005 second stage and have headlined with Terror, and toured with labelmates Scars Of Tomorrow and Between The Buried And Me, and served as main support for Devildriver, recorded Beauty And The Breakdown at Audiohammer Studios in Florida, with Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid) producing. It was the most comfortable recording session I have ever had, Castillo continues. It was so easy. The record just came right out of us. We went in expecting to work it, and it just came naturally. Its a lot heavier than our old stuff. Its still Bury Your Dead, but we dropped down to make it heavier. We kept things a little more simple, because simple can be better.

Guitarist Slim concurs, saying, Its evolved, too, and its almost like a grown up version of Bury Your Dead. On the last record, we wanted to keep it heavy because we didnt know anything else, as far as writing songs. On this record, we wanted to keep it heavy, catchy, and fun. We take ourselves seriously, and we treated the band as a business but fun is also important.

BYD also maintain that they dont practice, instead choosing to let things flow naturally. Me and Mark are like peanut butter and jelly, Slim reveals. We dont need to lock into a practice space with a bottle of whiskey and make a thing, with details all hidden. We go into my parents living room, where he has electric drum set and I have a half stack, and we write and other members come in and contribute. That organic method of playing with ideas and writing songs is another key factor of what makes BYD a little bit different and a whole lotta special.

Fun is an essential ingredient to the BYD sound, and they definitely strike the balance. You can hear us having a good time, Slim points out. When kids come to see us, were having a good time. Our whole thing is what did Motley Crue do? A lot of people these days are paying their hard earned money that they saved up to see a show, and be entertained. Were not Lord Of The Dance or the circus, but when you leave a Bury Your Dead show, youve never seen it done by a band like you see it done by us. Indeed, if youve ever witnessed a BYD show, when they play the song of the same name, there are massive pile-ons on stage, with kids clamoring for a chance to scream Bury your fuckin dead with Bruso. Having a good time is as important as the quality of the music, absolutely, 200 percent. I dont care if I break my guitar or whatever, Slim says.

Bury Your Dead: fusing fun and ferocity like no one else can.

- Amy Sciarretto