A Deathbed Promise - Carry It with Me

A Deathbed Promise

Carry It with Me
self-released; 2017

​3.5 out of 5

By Dom Eagle

A Deathbed Promise is a band located in Bryan, Texas. Over the span of a decade knowing each other and jamming together, they have a lot to be proud of. Some of their recent accomplishments involve just releasing their first EP (about time!). Their seven-track EP entitled Carry It With Me is certainly an interesting listen for a band’s debut, though they’ve obviously had some years to practice and perfect their sound. They consistently manage to get out of town shows, and it’s no wonder why.

​“Drown with the World” is the opening track. It wastes no time getting started. A burst of drums, screeching guitars and passionate vocals smoothly harmonize with one another and create an infectious pop-punk/post-hardcore sound. There are hard elements to the music, of course, but something about the vocals does carry their sound above being a clichéd rehashing of an outdated sound. That being said, I did far prefer the singing to the screaming; not that I don’t like screaming elements in some music, but I didn’t think it added a whole lot here. Then again, it probably adds a lot of punch to a live performance.

‘’’92" is a track that certainly feels like a throwback to the ‘90s, as the title promises. Driven by a heavily crashing drum beat, metallic guitar riffs that sizzle and bring this track to life, and emotive vocals, yet again, this is another strong track in the listing. There wasn’t a whole lot of variety in this track, but I did like the gradual build to an explosive finish with a slowly chugging guitar rhythm that created an ominous, growing vibe in the track. There was a powerful energy to this track, but I was left wanting something slightly different or more engaging in terms of the melody. Still, I can’t fault the vocal performance and the screeching, energetic nature of the guitars. I preferred it to the opener in many ways.

“Beautifully Unplanned” opens with a softly muted electric guitar arpeggio that creates an atmosphere onto which the vocals can lay themselves. This is arguably the most suited instrumental to the vocal style out of any of the songs on the EP, and I thought everything came together on this track. The melody was a lot more infectious, and the wall of sound created by rhythmic power chords and metallic lead guitar created a head-banging-worthy piece overall. I definitely appreciated the variation between the verses and choruses. The short burst of screaming towards the end was fitting to the explosive climax. It’s hard to explain what made this track different to the first two; stylistically, it was the same, but I think the songwriting just came together the best on this song. There was a lot going on. It certainly felt like a “Beautifully Unplanned” moment in the EP.

“Puppeteer”is driven by a rapidly-chugging guitar riff, a precisely-throbbing beat and those distinctive vocals, yet again. This was possibly one of the best vocal performances on the album given some of the powerful, elongated notes that make an appearance throughout the song. It wasn’t my favorite track as a whole, in terms of melody or energy, but it was certainly an impressive performance; some of the drum fills were nice stylistic additions too. By this point in the EP, A Deathbed Promise has certainly showcased all their strengths.

All in all, this EP was a short snippet of this band’s potential. I do feel like they need the confidence to really go for it with some of their future songs, but there’s no denying the talent of the singer (and the instrumentalists, for that matter). I look forward to seeing what comes next from them.

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