Pissed about personality-morphing poseurs, Dead Even singer Jedediah “JC” Koszewski breathes fire, creating the urgent impression that nobody involved will live through the song. Over metalcore chug riffs and straight-up metal guitar solos, Dead Even — voted best metal band in town by Scene readers two years running — turns gang vocals into small-army vocals, and the violent final minute of “Cancerous Demonica” beats anything we’ve seen on Headbanger’s Ball this month. Ditto for Michigan’s Dissonant.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2006.