Band:	Die Like Gentlemen
Album:	Hard Truths
Style:	Progressive sludge metal
Release date:	March 2023

01. Guts Of A Beggar
02. Last Night On Earth
03. Whipping Boy
04. Infalling Bodies
05. In Ruins
06. Bury Me
07. Letting In The Rain
08. Harbinger Of Joy
09. Unliving

One of the most unique bands to come out of Portland is Die Like Gentlemen, and Hard Truths is one of their most intriguing releases to date; believe me, the title says it all.

The U.S. city of Portland is renowned for spawning many great metal acts, and emerging amidst this mighty fine collection of bands has been the impressive progressive sludge band Die Like Gentlemen, who formed back in 2012. Die Like Gentlemen is a band unlike any other representing the U.S. city of metal; although sludge may be at the core centre of their style, they can't just be simply be narrowed down to that one specific genre. Their style and influences go beyond just sludge, incorporating a wide variety of genres and styles into their music, such as gothic, doom, and progressive.

Admittedly (going off-topic), I'm a sucker for fancy cover art, and Die Like Gentlemen are a band I'm familiar with mainly due to their striking cover arts, and here on Hard Truths I find the cover painting (The Ocean At Night With A Burning Ship by Marcus Larson) to be the most striking of all, the colours I find most fascinating.

This brings me to what this fifth full-length release Hard Truths is all about. Written against the backdrop of the turmoil in their residing city of Portland, Hard Truths is basically what the title suggests; it takes the subject matters of politics, the pandemic, isolation, wildfires, protests, crime, poverty, the addicted, and the toll it has taken on the mental wellbeing of the affected, and put all these subjects into context on this intriguing album. Just shy of an hour long, Hard Truths shows more than just regular sludge. Yes, the chunky guitar tone is present, and the chugging slow-to-mid-tempo riffs for most part take centre stage, which is made apparent from the opening track, "Guts Of A Beggar", where you're immediately struck by the slower tempo, and deep, heavy sludge sound. However, there is also a traditional doom energy behind the track, almost sounding inspired by Black Sabbath and Candlemass, and the riffs in general aren't as sluggish as you might expect; they actually contain traditional catchy melodies.

The most unique track on the album for me has to be the heavy doom-driven song "Letting In The Rain", with intensely atmospheric built-up, emotionally striking lyrics behind the soft haunting vocals, deep heavy bass lines, and dramatically effective guitar feedback sounds, before the heavy sludge riffs and rhythmic drumming participate once again. The next track, "Harbinger Of Joy" sees another vocal style change, in which you hear secondary vocals added working alongside the aggressive main vocals; the track even features a short guitar solo (second best solo on the album, behind the one featured on "Whipping Boy"), and some of the most striking bass and drumming rhythm patterns. The final track "Unliving" is possibly the closest to sounding like traditional heavy metal, and easily the catchiest track on the album; once the opening riff kicks in, Judas Priest will spring to mind, especially with the up-beat tempo and the drumming continuously pounding away with such ferocity.

Upon listening, you will no doubt find the various vocal styles the most surprising element behind the album's structure, from the aggressive spoken word style featured on "Bury Me", to the occasional growls most notably featured on the final track "Unliving", to the aggressively raspy shouts on "In Ruins", and of course the secondary vocals which are present on most tracks.

Overall, I can't say Hard Truths is the best of performances by Die Like Gentlemen; there is nothing incredible musically that will stand out, and the vocals in certain areas slightly let the album down in all honesty. However, the emotion behind the songwriting, meaningful profound lyrics and originality are what drive this band forward, making them stand out amongst other acts in the sludge category, as well as standing out from the countless other acts from the Portland region.