Album Review
Meleeh - To Live and Die Alone.Meleeh - To Live and Die Alone

Around Europe, Meleeh are a band known for their hard work and dedication to touring. Hailing from Gävel, Sweden, they formed around six years ago and have released two previous offerings. The first thing i'd like to note about this album is the ecologically produced case made from recycled paper and that if you buy it, it'll come in a more eco-friendly PVC bag – which is always a good thing.

You have just 21 seconds to prepare yourself for the second track Vowbreaker. It has a hard hitting, heavy hardcore sound, a point which is emphasised by the fact that this album was mostly recorded live in the studio. This is them live but on CD and I must say it's very very good.

Via a seamless interchange you're then hit in the face by the whopping What I Carry With Every Heartbeat. Just three tracks in it's clear to see why they work so hard – if your band sounded as good as this on CD let alone live, you probably would too.

To Live Alone is the next song which caught my attention. It's a bit darker than the other songs so far, a lot heavier but still maintains the rhythmic guitars and technical drum beats of the rest of the album.

The next song kicks off and it's a bit more light-hearted sounding than To Live Alone but Trauma still kicks your ass from beginning to end. It's a song that you hear and want to move to regardless of where you are and well worth a listen if you're one of those people who decides if they want to listen to a band based on one song. Which just for the record is a stupid thing to do.

Thorns for Flowers is not a hardcore punk song. Not at all. However, it's brilliant and it's haunting. You find out during this song that Thomas Florén is a talented young man very capable of screaming your face off as well as his but he can also sing...and he has a lovely voice.

The album ends with the energetic To Die Alone. A final showcase of this experienced band and their talent. It's a brutal song filled with rhythmic guitars and drums that kick your ass into moving around. A brilliant finish to an excellent album.

This is a band of very talented men who have worked hard to make this album and it thoroughly deserves a listen. The whole album has a dark atmosphere which is ground home by the haunting and incredibly guilt ridden Thorns for Flowers and yet maintains a relentless pace despite there being an instrumental and patches of calm almost amongst the storm.

4/5

Review by Lauren Dauny
 Band Members
Meleeh - Band
Thomas (Guitar)
Fredrik (Drums)
Björn (Guitar)
Thomas (Voicals)
David (Bass)
 Track Listing
1. Marmaverken
2. Vowbreaker
3. What I Carry With Every Heartbeat
4. Sun And Moon
5. To Live Alone
6. Trauma
7. Hells Mouth
8. Panegyric
9. Thorns For Flowers
10. To Die Alone
 Band Related Links
Meleeh Myspace
Meleeh Official Website
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?