The product of a few present Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, and Overcast guys, Death Ray Vision is one of those mildly appealing side projects, cobbled together because it’s fun to get the gang together to play some hardcore thrash. If this were pieced together in 2003, then it would be a different story; Headbanger’s Ball would be in the rehearsal room, compiling footage, some nifty opening spots would be secured, and the buzz would be there. Not so much in 2013. Yet, the band’s We Ain’t Leavin’ Till Your Bleedin’ is good, friendly, violent fun. Harmless, in spite of the components.
The two main pieces here are vocalist Brian Fair (Shadows Fall) and bassist Mike D’Antonio (Killswitch Engage), both of whom did time in mid-90’s metalcore forerunners Overcast. Since doing another Overcast album didn’t appear to be in the cards, a reckless, punk/thrash concoction like Death Ray Vision makes sense. The album nearly cracks the 28-minute mark, so it’s wise to cling on to the burly thrash of “Over My Dead Body” or the anthemic “Barfly.” Fair does his patented bark/shout across the board, turning in some cool flavors on “Break Every Chain” and “A Forest (of Kegs).” Clearly, this is for the light-hearted.
It’s cool to see these guys putting out something fun and absent-minded, for there’s still plenty of substance left in the respective KSE and Shadows Fall tanks. We Ain’t Leavin’ Till Your Bleedin’ is precise and quick, with maybe enough depth and pull to get some of the Mass-metalcore contingent excited. The rest is a push.