Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
When Heaven Let Them Die dropped on November 6th, 2024, I knew that Counterparts made something special. Their last LP A Eulogy For Those Still Here was a harrowing masterpiece with themes about grief and loss. The band went full-send and made one of their heaviest LPs to date. Tracks such as “Whispers of Your Death” and the titular “A Eulogy for Those Still Here” were gut-wrenching lyrically. The call-out in “Whispers of Your Death”, “Make your cancer mine.” is heartbreaking and profound a top the roaring guitars and drums on the track. Counterparts have clearly stepped up on that LP and laid everything out on the floor. The LP is beautifully haunting and some of their best work to date. So when Counterparts put out their surprise EP drop for Heaven Let Them Die at the end of 2024, I knew that this was going to be a jam-packed EP of wall-to-wall heaviness, and thankfully Counterparts delivered. The whining brief guitar intro on the opening track “A Martyr Left Alive” then immediately cut by the opening riff was one of the gnarliest intros I’ve heard in a long time. Brendon Murphy, lead singer, stretched his vocals out more than on any other Counterparts release. His range from higher frys to lower animalistic grunts drive the continued themes of loss and grief to another level. Yet, a key difference on the EP is the huge presence of anger. On A Eulogy for Those Still Here the themes of grief were more mournful, but on the new EP, the grief transforms into a disdain for the loss. The final track on the EP, the titular “Heaven Let Them Die” truly emphasizes this message with the lyrics “To the sky I prayed/For flesh not yet decayed/Heaven let them die”. To see the band perform all of these tragic songs live was absolutely incredible. Counterparts are truly dedicated to making these songs come to life on the stage. The whole stage was adorned with “stained glass” windows, candles lit all above the amps, and the cover art hanging in the back made the whole stage seem like it’s set up fro a Shakespearean tragedy. The lead up to their set with Foreign Hands, Malevolence, and Pain of Truth, were all amazing acts leading up to Counterparts set. If you have the chance to catch Counterparts near you, do not miss this tour.
Photos by Sarah Knoll
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