Aaron Lewis – Give My Country Back Review (2.5/10)

The doorway to potential is wide open!

Formed in the spring of 2024, …By The Deed are a metallic hardcore band built around the kind of political conviction that leaves absolutely no room for ambiguity. Drawing influence from Turmoil, Snapcase, One King Down, Deadguy, Helmet, Trial, and Inside Out, the band approaches hardcore from an explicitly anarchist perspective, using their music as a vehicle for confrontation, anger, and political resistance.

The Doorway combines newer material with remastered versions of earlier songs, making the release something of a snapshot of the band's development. There is plenty of potential here, particularly in the band's ability to create heavy breakdowns and deliver their political message with genuine conviction. Unfortunately, the songwriting itself doesn't always reach the same level as the band's passion.

The EP opens with “Live. Love. Revenge.”, immediately establishing the band's gritty metallic hardcore foundation. Hypnotic guitar riffs, thick fuzzy bass, deep hollow drums, and a sharp snare create a suitably hostile atmosphere. The vocals are easily one of the strongest elements, delivering a raw urgency that occasionally brings Incendiary to mind. The breakdown is particularly effective thanks to the bass tone, which adds a thick layer of low-end weight.

The problem is that the song doesn't quite develop beyond those ingredients. The structure is relatively predictable, and some of the transitions feel stiff. The band clearly knows what they want the breakdown to accomplish, but the material leading toward it isn't always equally compelling.

“Turns Out Sometimes Violence Is The Answer” follows a similar formula. A slow-burning opening gradually gives way to more aggressive hardcore, with the shouted vocals remaining the primary source of urgency. The bass becomes particularly effective once the breakdown arrives, producing a buzzing, distorted tone that gives the heavier sections real physical weight.

There are also moments where the guitar work hints at Every Time I Die, but without quite matching the unpredictability or technical creativity of that band's best material. The strongest sections are again the breakdowns, while some of the connecting riffs feel fairly generic.

“The Machine Demands Blood” is where the band's political identity becomes impossible to ignore. Opening with a sample featuring a U.S. Air Force member refusing to endorse the genocide in Palestine, the song immediately establishes the ideological territory …By The Deed are operating in.

The aggression is convincing, but this track also exposes another weakness. The clean vocal passages are intended to provide contrast against the screamed sections, yet they don't have anywhere near the same emotional impact. When the harsh vocals return, the song immediately feels more powerful. The cleaner delivery simply doesn't possess the same urgency or conviction.

The production also feels somewhat thin at points, particularly when compared with the heavier sections. Still, the final build works well, gradually increasing the tension before delivering another solid payoff.

One of the more successful songs is “No Song From A Dead Earth.” The ringing guitars, stronger riff construction, more dynamic drumming, and better overall pacing make this feel like a more complete composition. Rather than simply moving between riffs and breakdowns, the song feels like it has a clearer sense of progression.

The softer singing still doesn't work particularly well for me, but the final section makes up for some of that weakness. Buzzing bass, dynamic drums, and a heavy breakdown bring the song to a satisfying conclusion. This is the kind of songwriting I would like to hear more of from the band going forward.

The remastered material provides an interesting comparison.

The remastered “…By The Deed” is noticeably heavier and cleaner than the original recording. The improved production gives the guitars and rhythm section more definition, while the vocals remain the dominant emotional force. However, better production can't completely fix the underlying simplicity of the songwriting.

The riffs remain repetitive and the drum patterns are fairly straightforward. The remaster makes the track sound better, but it doesn't fundamentally transform the composition.

“To Their Gallows At A Quicker Speed” has similar problems. The remaster improves the presentation, but the song itself still feels underdeveloped. The riffs and drums occasionally blend together into a messy wall of sound, and the transitions don't always feel particularly natural.

Once again, the vocalist does a lot of the heavy lifting.

That's a recurring theme throughout The Doorway: the band's conviction is considerably stronger than its songwriting.

You never question whether these musicians believe what they're saying. The vocals sound genuinely angry, the political themes are direct, and the breakdowns are delivered with plenty of force. But passion alone can't carry every riff.

“You Will Never Be Enough” has some stronger guitar ideas than portions of the earlier material, although it still retains some of the roughness found throughout the remastered songs. The deep drum tones work particularly well, but the bass doesn't have quite the same impact that it does on the newer recordings.

It's a respectable remaster, but it isn't one of the release's defining moments.

The closing track, “Process of Ire,” is much closer to what I think …By The Deed do best. The low-tuned guitars, thick bass, and straightforward drumming create a grimy metallic hardcore foundation, while the vocalist delivers another passionate performance. There are moments where the vocal delivery brings Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die to mind, particularly in the more frantic passages.

The female vocal sample layered over the distorted instrumentation also adds an interesting atmospheric element. It doesn't radically change the song, but it gives the ending some additional personality and helps prevent the final track from feeling like another standard breakdown vehicle.

Instrumentally, the guitars and bass are at their best when the band stops trying to fill every section with complexity and instead focuses on making individual riffs feel heavy. The fuzzy bass tone is consistently one of the release's strongest features, especially when it locks into the slower breakdowns.

The drums are effective but rarely spectacular. Deep kick tones and sharp snares provide the necessary foundation, although the patterns can become predictable. There is plenty of room for the band to become more adventurous rhythmically without sacrificing the straightforward hardcore attack.

The vocals, meanwhile, are easily the most convincing part of the release. The screams sound genuinely pissed off rather than manufactured, and that authenticity gives even some of the weaker songs additional energy. Unfortunately, the clean vocal sections don't have the same effect. They feel noticeably less natural and lack the emotional weight of the harsher delivery.

Production is inconsistent but improved noticeably on the remastered material. The newer songs generally benefit from stronger low-end definition, while some of the older material still feels congested despite the improvements. The band doesn't need an ultra-polished production style, either—the rawness actually fits their music—but greater separation between the instruments would make the heavier moments hit much harder.

Ultimately, The Doorway is a release that makes it easy to understand where …By The Deed could eventually go, even if they aren't completely there yet.

The band's identity is already established. Their political beliefs are clear, their vocalist has genuine presence, and they have an obvious understanding of what makes metallic hardcore physically effective. The problem is that too many riffs feel like they're simply functioning as bridges between breakdowns rather than memorable pieces of songwriting in their own right.

That is the biggest area where the band needs to grow.

If …By The Deed can take the aggression and conviction already present here and combine it with more adventurous riff writing, stronger transitions, and greater dynamic variation, their next release could be considerably more impactful. They don't need to become technically flashy or abandon their hardcore foundation. They simply need to make more of the material between the breakdowns hit as hard as the breakdowns themselves.

The Doorway isn't a perfect introduction, but it is a promising one. There's anger here, there's purpose, and most importantly, there's authenticity. The band clearly isn't playing hardcore simply because they like the aesthetic. They have something they genuinely want to say.

Now they need the songwriting to become as powerful as the message.