US foursome DEATH VALLEY HIGH was formed back in 2006, and have three full length albums to their name at this point, and if I understand they’ve had a spell of inactivity or a hiatus period in between their second and third album too. “Positive Euth” is their third and most recent production, and was released through Minus Head Records in the US and Graviton Music Services for Europe in 2013, if I have managed to track the logistic facts correctly.

Now, I’ll have to start out by mentioning that at 42 years of age, I suspect I’m at last 10 years too old to be a part of the public this band appears to aim towards. Because this is music for those who still know or not too fondly remember and recall what fear and angst is all about. I would suspect that teenagers and people in their early 20’s would make out the greater majority of people buying their music and attending their concerts, as the mood and atmosphere is one I imagine will hit much closer to home among an audience in those age segments than they will to middle-aged people with a more secure grasp of their thoughts and emotions that does come to most with age.

In terms of the music itself, words like twisted and demented were never far from my mind when I listened to the 12 tracks that makes out this album. This is a band that know and love the darker aspects of music in general, and appear to gleefully add twisted details here and there to further enhance the feeling of dementia that runs like a red thread to just about everything. These guys do know their punk and their hardcore, and should be fairly familiar with grunge and stoner rock too. In addition there are plenty of keyboards and electronics flavoring the soundscapes in a manner that makes it apparent that they do know their industrial metal pretty well, and I would be surprised if at least one member doesn’t have an intimate knowledge about a band like Depeche Mode as well.

These tendencies are slammed together in schizophrenic compositions focusing on one or more of the styles or bands mentioned, joyfully pairing off contrasting elements in a twisted but appealing manner. Dark, gloomy but energetic, perhaps with a slight touch of pop punk antics at times and then in the chorus sections first and foremost, but more often than not staying well put in an atmosphere that reeks of doom and gloom, where vocals with emo sensibilities will be the alien touch for most anyone on the wrong side of 30.

Amidst the chaotic blend of styles and sounds I did hear quite a lot of enjoyable stuff though, perhaps most of all because there were some rather familiar sounds that kept appearing. The demented atmospheres made me fondly recall one of my own favorites in the angst-ridden department, Gary Numan’s classic “Replicas”, and while Death Valley High doesn’t feature musical elements comparable to his material in any obvious manner there is a similarity there in terms of creating cold, alien atmospheres. I suspect the songwriters in Death Valley High might learn a trick or two by Numan in that department if they wanted to. Musically there were more striking similarities to a band of a quite different nature altogether I picked up, namely Killing Joke. Also a band with an intense sound and a specialty in crafting angst-ridden material that somehow also had an accessible nature. If this is a case of a band that is a direct or indirect inspiration I don’t know, but if the band members aren’t aware of Killing Joke they should find it rather interesting to listen to albums such as “What’s This For” and “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” in particular.

Just how to describe this album by Death Valley High in terms of a distinct style is a difficult one, as they tend to mix so many different elements into their material. Post something I guess, where hardcore, metal and industrial merits mentioning as dominant flavors amidst a fairly large truckload. There’s an edition of this album that also comes with a bonus CD, sporting five tracks of a more conventional and arguably indie rock flavored orientation, followed by remixes of these songs where fours appears to be aimed for use at discotheques while the fifth appears to be more of a headphone ambient industrial experience. Obviously this bonus CD further widens the stylistic palette covered by this band, and is a rather different production altogether from the main event.

As far as recommendations go, I suspect that if you’re young in spirit, don’t mind occasional emo lead vocals and otherwise finds the notion of listening to music fairly schizophrenic, dark and angst-ridden in overall nature to be compelling, especially if it has touches of industrial metal and punk in it’s foundations, then Death Valley High’s “Positive Euth” is an album you’ll most likely enjoy.

My rating: 75/100