Few bands in the scene have been as long lasting and prolific as Buffalo, NY's famous sons, Every Time I Die. For almost sixteen years, the band has steadily evolved and refined their chaotic hardcore sound to a precise point over the course of six records and a laundry list of ex-band members. Now we have arrived at their seventh effort, From Part Unknown, and it is crystal clear the band has perfected their sonic attack with this record.

Recorded with Kurt Ballou, at this point a recording guru in the world of heavy music, at God City, this record is quite the loud and chaotic affair. Starting with The Great Secret, the track launches a blitzkrieg on your ears, with Andy Williams and Jordan Buckley thrashing away with fast and relentless riffs. Ryan Leger's drumming comes out of the gate with a relentless gallop, punishing yet refined. In fact, Ryan's drumming is a true highlight of the record, he never lets up for the course of the record. With apologies to Mike Novak, Ryan is the drummer the band should of had for all these years.

Following that, we have Pelican Of The Desert and Decayin' With The Boys, two songs that show off the two sides of the band and the mastering of the two sounds. With Pelican, we have the fast and chaotic side of ETID on display, fast thrash riffs combined with an excellent cameo from Sean Ingram of Coalesce fame. With Decayin', we have the mastery of their tried and true southern rock meets hardcore sound, with Keith Buckley providing his trademark screaming and singing combination vocals.

Throughout the chaotic record, there is one sinisterly excellent track that stands out, the brooding Moor. Starting off with a dark repetitive piano intro, with Keith crooning about a battle with the devil, the song kicks into a chugging power chord filled attack. The sound is quite a departure from the normal ETID sound and to be honest, it's easily one of the best songs the band has ever written.

The riffs are true stars on this record, their is not one riff that is off or not good. From Old Light (featuring an great cameo from The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon) to Overstayer, the riffs are some of ETID's best, an impressive feat in comparisons to the band's catalog. Personally, my favorite riffs would be from El Dorado, fast and punishing but super catchy at the same time.

Recording with Kurt Ballou was an excellent move on the band's part, the record has a perfect balance of punishing sound and clarity that is typical of Ballou's production. Every cymbal hit, every string strung, nothing drowns out another throughout the record, thus providing an excellent cohesive mix. The man has yet to put a poorly recorded record under his name and with this record, it stands as one of his best.

This record stands above all as the definitive Every Time I Die record. This is the band at their very best, the product of years of pushing their sound forward and years on the road. If this was the band's final effort, it would be the perfect end to the band's long career of excellent records (OK, maybe not so much Gutter Phenomenon). The band is a testament to longevity in the scene, outlasting many of their compatriots and remaining relevant while many fade away and become forgotten. This record cements their status in the scene as of the greatest bands to ever grace it, setting a benchmark for any future band to try and overcome.

10/10