“I am personally proud to be a part of Viking Funeral because Fletcher, Ken Seaton and the whole Suburban Noize family have the same DIY, never back down mentality that we have. Viking Funeral is a perfect home for us, as we’ve seen how labels work and the majority of them are more interested in making a quick buck instead of developing an artist that puts out great records,” commented Efrem Schulz from Death By Stereo. “Working with Viking Funeral brings us back to our early days in the hardcore and punk-rock scenes that birthed us, because they care about the music rather than what’s trendy. This record is a return to our roots and with the addition of our original bass player Paul Miner as producer we have re-established our signature sound and we managed to forge a new sonic path for Death by Stereo. Every individual in the band is excited to continue to shed light on the issues affecting our world and we plan to storm the globe with this record!”

Balancing chaos and consciousness is no easy task, and few bands will ever do it as well as Death By Stereo. Born in the same Orange County, CA scene that propelled bands like Throwdown, Eighteen Visions and Avenged Sevenfold into the national limelight, Death By Stereo have unleashed some classic hardcore punk-rock records over their 14 year career including 2001′s “Day of the Death” and 2003′s “Into the Valley of the Death“. The band’s relentless tour schedule has saw them tour alongside legendary groups like AFI, Sick Of It All, Rise Against, Thursday and the Vans Warped Tour, while earning a die-hard fan base across the globe.

On their new album “Black Sheep of the American Dream”, Death By Stereo have elevated their brand of conscious, politically charged hardcore punk-rock to the next level. Storming out of the gate harder, faster and louder than they ever have, the band has returned to their hardcore punk roots, and peppered their sound with crushing metal breakdowns and blazing guitar solos to create their most socially relevant and impassioned album to date. Attacking the system with a sonic barrage that only Death By Stereo can deliver, “Black Sheep of the American Dream” is a call to arms for the disenfranchised to stand up and fight back against a corrupt administration.

Death By Stereo will be direct support for Agnostic Front’s Hardcore Worldwide European tour with Naysayer throughout February.

DEATH BY STEREO TOUR DATES:
Feb 02 – Andernach, Germany @ Juz-Live Club w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 03 – Aarau, Switzerlan @ Kiff w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 04 – Pinarella Ra, Italy @ Rock Planet w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 05 – Romagnano Sesia, Italy @ Rock n Roll Arena w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 06 – Rome, Italy @ Blackout Club w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 07 – Gorizia, Italy @ Pieffe Factory w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 08 – Wien, Austria @ Szene w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 09 – Cham, Germany @ L.A. Lifestyle Club w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 10 – Cottbus, Germany @ Gladhouse w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 11 – Berlin, Germany @ SO36 w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 12 – Heerlen, Netherlands @ Nieuwe Nor w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 13 – Cassel, Germany @ Kulturfabrik Salzmann w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 14 – Augsberg, Germany @ Kantine w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 15 – Saarbruken, Germany @ Garage w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 16 – Cergy Pontoise, France @ Lobservatoire w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 17 – St Brieu, France @ La Citouille w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 18 – Montpellier, France @ Secret Place w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 19 – Strasbourg, France @ La Laiterie w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 20 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Speakeasy w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 21 – Hannover, Germany @ Faust w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 22 – Jablonec, Czech Republic @ Eurocentrum w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 23 – Krakow, Poland @ Kwadrat w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 24 – Lodz, Poland @ Dekompresia w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 25 – Leipzig, Germany @ Conne Island w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 26 – Marchendorf, Germany @ Stillbruch w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 27 – Lindau, Germany @ Vaudville w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 28 – Schweinfurt, Germany @ Alter Stattbahnhof w/ Agnostic Front
Feb 29 – Hamburg, Germany @ Kaiserkeller w/ Agnostic Front
Mar 01 – Magdeburg, Germany @ Factory w/ Agnostic Front
Mar 02 – Brochum, Germany @ Matrix w/ Agnostic Front
Mar 03 – Mons, Belgium @ Maximum HXC @ On Air Studio w/ Agnostic Front
Mar 04 – Den Bosch, Netherlands @ W2 Poppodium w/ Agnostic Front
Mar 10 – Las Vegas, NV @ Aruba
Mar 20 – Tucson, AZ @ Surly Wench Pub

DEATH IS MY ONLY FRIEND by DEATH BY STEREO (Serjical Strike Records)

With the release of Death Is My Only Friend, Death By Stereo is mixing up punk and hardcore with a few surprise twists thrown in. On the kick-off track Opening Destruction, you’ll find raw belted vocals; Efrem Schulz, lead vocalist, shifts between styles throughout the instrumentation, but you can feel the tension.

The lyrics on the CD contain angst and political commentary. Efrem’s vocals are deeper on this CD. He tends to try different things with his voice. He even uses a megaphone, which makes him sound like a powerful dictator. In tracks Welcome to the Party and We Sing Today for a Better Tomorrow, it’s the sound that this band is known for; punk rock mixed with slight metalcore influences.

The song I Got Your Back features intense varied metal solos. These solos go from low crunching metalcore, to high, piercing full on metal. Slowing things down is the song Forever And A Day that flows with a moody goth feel.

For those who look for a bit of everything, Death Is My Only Friend is enjoyable. Interesting too is when Elfrem vocals go back and forth with a choir in the song Let Down And Alone – a great track for sure. The added higher screaming backups are nice among the CD too.

A mixed bag of tricks are up this band’s sleeve, keeping the listeners anticipating as to what’s coming up next from this Orange County band. The record is produced really well. With the orchestration combined with the special arrangements in the vocals, Death By Stereo are heading for a higher gain with this album.

(Review by Jonathan D. Wright)