The Plot In You - Could You Watch Your Children Burn Review
The Plot In You has been amongst my favorite bands since they released their debut E.P. “Wife Beater”, which they have improved from immensely up to this point in their career. Whenever I found out they were releasing their debut full-length album “First Born” I was beyond excited to hear it. This band showed great potential in their first two releases in my opinion, just in the difference in the quality of production from Wife Beater to First Born.
Now, you’re probably thinking that “Could You Watch Your Children Burn?” is going to be just another typical metalcore release. Well, you’re wrong, The Plot In You doesn’t disappoint in their sophomore album, giving no meaning to the term “sophomore slump.” While they still have that heavy, metalcore sound they have also added in a nu-metal sound as well. A huge contribution to this change in style for The Plot In You came from their Vocalist, Landon Tewers, who took on the responsibility of producing the whole album. This is also the band’s first album with guitarist Derrick Sechrist (former vocalist/guitarist of A Bullet For Pretty Boy) following Anthony Thoma’s departure from the band after their debut album, “First Born”.
Now down to what you have all been waiting for, this album is definitely one that will remain as one of my favorite releases of the year, if not my favorite. The lyrics are just so immensely packed with emotion; anger, hatred, resent, and everything in between. The songs are also both heavy and melodic, with a catchy, clean chorus full of unrivaled clean and unclean vocals.
“Premeditated” one of the singles that was released gives you just a sample of the raw emotion, throughout this album. This song is also so full of descriptive lyrics that almost make you envision and feel the thoughts, and the emotion of Landon as he wrote this song, it gives you a more personal connection to him in my opinion which is one of the unique features of this album. With that being said, during an interview with Altpress Landon gave them the story behind every track on the album to help you understand them a bit better. When asked about “Premeditated” this is what he said it was about: “A girl that I was with a few years back was raped while I was on tour. For months I planned how I would kill this guy. It’s one of those things you never expect to happen to someone you care about. When it does it definitely messes with your head. I could write a book about this song.”
“Fiction Religion” another one of the singles released before the whole album dropped, also shows off the bands new style very well. This song has one of the catchiest chorus’ out of the whole album, that goes a little something like this: “Can’t seem to shut my brain off, I haven’t slept, I keep waiting on a sign. I won’t live a lie to give meaning to my life. I don’t feel anything now. My hope and my faith let me down.” This chorus really stands out to me because i can relate to it on a more personal level as I’m sure many people can. When asked about this song during his interview with Altpress this is what Landon said the song was about: “This song is about my struggle with my beliefs and disbeliefs. It can be the most frustrating thing in the world trying to sift through the bullshit and find something real. My faith always let me down. I cried out to a god a thousand times and never felt anything.”
“Digging Your Grave”, one of my favorite songs on the album, for a few reasons, one being this song is relatable to anyone; we all have that person we hate and can feel similar to this way about. Another reason being throughout this album sounds such as someone spitting, what sounds like a struggle between two people, someone being stabbed; the digging/filling in of a grave, and the sound of someone urinating on it can be heard to give the song more of an angry, hateful, murderous vibe. This is definitely one of the most controversial songs on the album because Landon targeted it at Austin Carlile, vocalist of Of Mice and Men. The only thing he said during the Altpress interview was: “This was the first track I wrote after First Born. I had some fresh hate and I wanted to let it out. I wanted to make the most violent sounding song possible.”
“Population Control” is yet another one of the angry, hateful murderous songs on this album that I thoroughly enjoy. Landon points out his hatred for someone who lives a “dream life” of nothing but drinking, fucking, and sleeping. This song is also another one that you can feel the hatred through the lyrics, and the way they’re vocalized in the song. It’s definitely on more of the heavy side then the melodic, but it still has that catchy melodic chorus this album has throughout. In the Altpress interview, Landon had this to say about the background of the song: “Growing up I had this friend, we were super tight, agreed on pretty much everything. He got laid at 14 and then started fucking anything he could find. Got progressively worse and worse over time. I grew to hate him and everything he had become. It sucks how people can let things like that take over their lives.”
“Troll” is definitely one of the most hateful, violent songs on the album. With lines such as: “I picture you without your teeth. I’d beat your face into the floor, until it laid flat. I’d peel the flesh from your fucking bones. I hope you don’t forget that.” Giving you that sense of pure unadulterated hatred Landon seemed to be aiming for with this album. All in all, if you have liked the songs up to this point, you will enjoy this one like I do, although you may not enjoy the images implanted in your head while listening. In the track by track interview Landon gives us this background on the song: “The track name pretty much sums up this song. I feel like I have to hide from social networking sites sometimes because people’s ignorance is unreal. I know pretty much anyone in a band can relate. It’s so hard to not call out every little prick sometimes.”
“The Devil’s Contract” is another song that seems to be more relatable to on a personal level. In the chorus Landon talks about how his family and his friends should forget him, because there is no hope for him. This makes this song relatable to many people who have been in a situation like that, and I think it helps connect with Landon as well. That key element is a major reason why I enjoy this song. Whenever interviewed for the track by track this is what Landon had to say concerning the meaning of the song: “My friend Shane and I sold our souls to the devil. I don’t necessarily believe in the devil, but for that slim chance that God and the devil are real, I’d rather be on the devil’s side. This song is about the depression and hopelessness I felt during that time period. I was fucked up in the head”
“Shyann Weeps” is full of imagery right off the bat, opening the song with the lyrics: “Her face was so mangled it didn’t even look human anymore. I stood and watched her drown in her own blood, and I’m, and I’m hoping if there’s a hell, that that’s exactly where she is right fucking now.” Again, this song I find to be among my favorites because of the vividness of the lyrics, and the overall emotion of the song. Landon told Altpress this about the song: “This song is about a really vivid dream I had. This girl fucked over my best friend, and that night, I had a dream where I stomped her face in. I would never do that. But I won’t lie; I’d consider it a good dream. It’s just a giant diss to her, and any slut for that matter.”
“Sober and Soulless” is one of the more melodic songs in my opinion. This song is among my favorites on the album, there seems to just be so much emotion that I can relate to. Landon says this about the song during his interview with Altpress: “This was the last song I wrote for the record. I was going through some really tough shit back home, and I just felt kinda stuck in a rut with life in general. Sometimes, you just gotta keep pushing through the bad times to get to the good. This song is a reminder to myself that life is what you make of it.”
“Bible Butcher”. Judging by the name, I assumed right off the bat it’s about religion, specifically Christianity. The lines “Trust these words, there’s not a book that can change my mind. So, take this and trust me, ‘cause I feel so suffocated by you. Will you let me breathe?” Also the lyrics “open those ears, shut your mouth and just hear my side.” Seem to support this. Overall, I enjoy this song, because I know what it’s like to have religion crammed down your throat. Landon says this in his interview when it comes to this song: “I’ve always hated having religion, or anyone’s beliefs, shoved down my throat. But I feel like it just never stops happening. I know a lot of people can relate to that frustration. Just because I don’t believe what you believe doesn’t mean I don’t have morals and standards in life. I feel like a lot more people need to open their minds a little and consider other alternatives. Nobody knows anything for sure; there are a million interpretations of everything.”
“Glad You’re Gone” is another more melodic song like “Sober and Soulless”. This song is different from most of the songs on the album, considering the song is full of clean vocals instead of a mix of clean and unclean like the rest. I enjoy this song, quite a bit just because of its differences from the rest of the songs in the album; it’s a nice break from all of the hatred, and anger. This is what Landon had to say in the track by track interview: “This one is about my mother. It sucks to have to cut certain people out of your life, but sometimes you just have to. It’s basically me telling her I appreciate what she did for me, but I don’t want or need her in my life anymore.”
Overall, I think this album is very well produced, and put together. Like I said earlier I think it will remain one of my favorite releases of the year, all of the raw emotion, and the sense that you can connect to the writer on a different level is just something else. I also love the new sound that they have managed to create, which is remarkably different from their first two releases. If you’re looking for this to be the same as “First Born” or “Wife Beater” don’t get your hopes up, but it’s still worth a listen because it’s an amazing album.
9/10, must listen.
Reviewed by: Dillon Huey
Tagged: #The Plot In You #Could You Watch Your Children Burn #tpiy #Metal #Metalcore #rise records
6:01:00 @ 3/18/2013
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