Our Days Are Numbered - No Need to Mark These Graves

OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED are a Washington DC area band that brings something new and something old to the table. After the release of their self-titled debut album, these DC area metallers are at it again with their newest album, No Need to Mark These Graves. In addition to having a pretty cool and catchy album title, the band backs this up with some solid heavy, aggressive, and progressive death metal that is sure to catch you by surprise at times.
The album kicks things off with what is my favorite track, “Bring Me the Head”. I like how these guys cut out the filler and really get to the point with their song names. The song starts off with a sort of syncopated off time riff that quickly segues into some heavy brutality with Lars Ulrich-esque cymbal stops – not overly common in the death metal scene. The song proceeds with some aggressive screaming vocals that fit the musical bill quite well. One of the aspects of what I like about this band and this song is their progressive approach to a generally straight forward genre. When I hear this type of death metal, I’m used to hyper blast beats and fast chugging on the guitars – which they have plenty of – but at the same time guitarists Chris and Tona include some pretty interesting melodies into their fretboard work. What is by far my favorite part of this song, is the break down section around the 2 minute mark that leads into some great solo work. For me, a lot of death metal solos seem to be “look how fast I can play”. Chris and Tona take it to another level by adding a very blues and almost soulful feel to their guitar playing. This song alone is worth checking out for the innovative guitar solo approach to this style of music.
The album progresses smoothly with the bands signature aggressive death metal style splashed with bits of tasteful progressive song writing. Songs like “Shiner” and “Who Buried These Bodies in My Yard?” have their fair share of fast guitars and pummeling drums that attract people to this style of death metal. Even with the songs that fit more of the typical death metal mold, these guys break things up with their progressive specialties and keep every song interesting. They even have some hardcore elements like in the song “Clear the Planet” where there are vocal chants and rhythms that really remind me of old school NYC hardcore.
OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED are a progressive death metal band, with an emphasis on progressive – in a good way. They certainly have a solid dose of traditional death metal growls, screaming guitars, and pounding drums; but at the same time the song writing and guitar playing especially are something you don’t hear every day. I really dig the guitar solos as you will hear definite rock and blues influences coming through. Their new album No Need to Mark These Graves is a perfect fit for any death metal fan as well as someone who is looking for something different amongst the many bands out there.
(7.5/10)

Devin Walsh

Band info: www.myspace.com/ourdaysarenumberedmd
For fans of: The Black Dahlia Murder, Necrophagist, White Chapel

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