REVIEW: Lifesick - Loved By None, Hated By All

Danish band Lifesick have been tirelessly crafting misanthropic music in Copenhagen’s underground for a decade now, and their death metal influenced brand of metallic hardcore has gradually earnt them more and more fans within metals elite. At the beginning of this year they played with Cabal on their UK tour and have since been mentioned far and wide by UK hardcore fans, so their fourth full-length is coming at the perfect time to propel them into hardcore's mainstream - so is ‘Loved By None, Hated By All’ going to be the next big release in hardcore?

Opening the album is the song ‘Death Wish’, which is a pummelling introduction to the bands sound. Their metallic hardcore style fits plenty of aggression and menace into every riff, beat and growl and the first song on the album is a prime place to display all this. Mixing in two-step pacing for the verses and a filthy half time breakdown towards the end of the track, there are no pulled punches on ‘Death Wish’. The second track on the LP is called ‘Peace Through Superior Firepower’ and represents this concept very well. Lifesick assault the listeners ears with blast beats, growls, false harmonics and some truly delightful squeals, alongside a Neanderthalian breakdown that is likely to cause dentists real problems with underbites becoming more frequent everywhere the band tour.

‘Double Cross’ follows up with more aggression, and condenses plenty of visceral anger into less than two minutes of fight music style hardcore, that’s sure to please plenty of fans of the genre. ‘Hollow Treats’ feels like a more death metal inclined track relative to Lifesick’s hardcore roots, with a real 90’s feel to it - a feature that’s becoming increasingly common in death metal worldwide. It’s the third longest song on the release, just over four minutes, and the band make good use of this time with a melancholy, subtly menacing guitar outro that pairs an acoustic with a solemn electric solo.

As we approach halfway, ‘Legacy of Misery’ rises to greet us and carries on the death metal inclination of the previous track, although notably including some rather Kublai Khan-esque guitar usage. As another long track, four seconds longer than ‘Hollow Treats’, there’s plenty of time for the band to get into the thick of the music and slow things down for another very 90’s midsection, before breaking things down to the end of the track. Side B begins with ‘Poems Of My Funeral’ and it follows in the same footsteps as the last two tracks, barring some of the more obvious death metal tropes. This style, whilst fun, starts to become predictable at this point, so is greatly benefitted by ‘Liquid Courage’ bringing more hardcore back into proceedings - even if the breakdown does begin with another stereotypical death metal guitar squeal.

There’s more hardcore brought to the table with semi title track ‘Loved By None’ as Lifesick get the track going at a high tempo that doesn’t break till the lead up to the heaviest breakdown of the album so far. This is the most ‘pure’ hardcore song on the release and is a riotously enjoyable two minutes or so. Track nine, ‘The Mourning March’, is abysmally heavy to the point that it feels like someone is scratching at the inside of your head with a crowbar. Whilst working brilliantly as its own song, it’s almost better as a lead-up to the final track on the album ‘Straight Jacket’, which is the longest song here by some length at five and a half minutes long. The approximately half-hour long album is wrapped up by this cataclysmic piece of music, with multiple breakdowns that ooze with malice and riffs that cut with a razor edge. The fade out from the riff at the end works as one final homage to 90’s death metal, before an unnerving outro finally puts ‘Loved By None, Hated By All’ to rest.

Lifesick have clearly put blood, sweat and tears into this record and it shows - this is their most accomplished and mature release to date, showcasing their influences well but never letting them intrude too far on their modus operandi. With the exception of some mildly repetitive moments in the middle of the album, this is a seriously strong piece of death-metallic hardcore output from a band who have prepared themselves for global recognition, and might well be on their way to garnering exactly that. ‘Loved By None, Hated By All’ is a spittle-flecked call to arms that shouldn’t be ignored by anyone who enjoys their music paired with spin kicks and stage diving.

'Loved By None, Hated By All' will be released on November 1st via Metal Blade Records.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Photo: Allan Kristiansen