(3 Out of 5)

This is hardly on the same scale with debating David Lee Roth versus Sammy Hagar with Van Halen, but I must say this is the first time I have heard It Dies Today without Nicholas Brooks singing.  Truth be told, I still much prefer Brooks to Jason Wood.  I loved the way Brooks sang a cover of Enjoy the Silence back in 2005.  In my opinion, Wood does a little more screaming than singing… which I guess is the goal of the Metalcore genre.

I have one criteria for whether or not hardcore metal is good: if when I listen to it, every new song scares my cocker spaniel, than it is good.  For the most part, Lividity did that.  What I have always liked about It Dies Today is that they are able to do what most metal bands can’t, which is blend hard guitar with crashing drums, and actual singing.  I think Brooks was a much better singer than Wood, but when the songs slowed down and the screaming stopped, Wood showed he had some singing chops too.

The entire band is fantastic, and this is a good debut album for Wood.  Is this the greatest CD of all time?  Absolutely not, but it is very good.  “Martyr of Truth” is my favorite song on the disk.  Why?  I have no idea, I just ended up liking it the best of the bunch. 

On a side note, as someone who was born in Buffalo and has suffered through four Super Bowl defeats, it pleases me to be able to say that It Dies Today has supplanted the Goo Goo Dolls as the greatest band out of the 716.

Thank God.

By: Paul Hammond - Senior Editor