How gradual is death truly? When you think about how much you grew from seventeen to twenty, and then compare it to the last three years of your life, it can certainly feel like we’re living dead years. The songs on this record confront the creeping stoppage. The standstill. The “Creation and Decay”: “All bright colours turn to grey / All your ideals fade away.” But the glum and melancholy is matched line by line with the inspirited and hopeful. Offering a global group therapy session to all who drop the needle. “Keep your head up / While the water tries to reach your chin.” Luckily for the sake of spreading this message, the music is very listenable. Co-ed, melodic shout singing in that economic and frenetic Euro form, with dynamic song structures, and a consistent, unifying pulse that keeps the trajectory on point and effective. Take the uncompromising spirit of RVIVR, with Blank Pages’ Brutalist execution, and Bitpart’s eye for detail, and you have something close to the sonic landscape of which Dead Years exist. There’s a lot to hang onto in these lyrics—something I wasn’t expecting—but glad I found. –Daryl (Dirt Cult / My Ruin)