Fun Fact – With the release of third studio album Outrage! Is Now, Death from Above have officially stayed together longer in their second incarnation than the original run they had as Toronto’s noisiest two-piece band from 2001 – 2006.

Congrats of some sort are definitely in order, and not just for another chance at longevity. No matter how you choose to listen to it in this topsy-turvy world, Outrage! Is Now thunders into your ears like a charging rhinoceros right from opening track “Nomad”, and continues to gore long after you’ve been bowled over.

If you’re familiar at all with DFA’s earlier bodies of work, you’ll instantly perceive a harder, subtly heavy metal edge. “Dance punk” was a perfectly acceptable term for 2004’s You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine as well as comeback effort The Physical World in 2014. While the difference in labelled sub-genres aren’t seismic, they are noticeable. Jesse F. Keeler seems to eschew any notion of electronica, presumably saving it for his next MSTRKRFT project, shredding instead on bass like some demonic tribute to Lemmy from Motörhead. There is also a stepped-up intensity to multitasking drum-pounder Sebastien Grainger’s game. The lead singer dramatically channels his inner Matt Bellamy of Muse on both “Moonlight” and “Caught Up”. Especially with the latter, there is sonic shifting within these more drawn-out songs and imaginative use of effects that expand the capabilities of what a thrash-and-bang duo can create.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find it interesting how at the same time Grainger and Keeler reverted back to their pre-1979 handle, Death from Above Records’ primary meal ticket LCD Soundsystem put out the very groovable American Dream, that band’s first album in seven years! Guess they let legal bygones be bygones…

Despite tongue-in-cheek, bubblegum poppish titles “Nvr 4evr” and “All I C Is U & Me”, there’s a maturity in their songcrafting that has progressed significantly from screaming “Pull out! Pull out!” in their younger days. They still slam ferociously though, a sensation that isn’t just restricted to a recording studio or personal enjoyment through headphones. If anything these growing years of experience have only made them a better live act, which you can see for yourself starting October 19th in Ottawa and hitting eight Canadian cities altogether along with up-and-coming “GRL BAND” The Beaches.