by Semus Fitzpatrick
The Pretty Reckless return after four years with “For I Am Death,” a three-and-a-half-minute adventure in modern hard-rock architecture. It’s a track that understands pacing, texture, and voltage. This song reminds us how much power exists between great songwriting and commanding singing.
A dry, biting guitar riff opens the piece, its midrange crunch left un-sweetened by ambience, an aesthetic choice that instantly feels deliberate and pulls you into the soundstage. When the band enters tutti, the sonic field expands laterally rather than vertically: bass locks in unison with the riff, drums slam on the downbeat, and the compression envelope keeps the transients sharp. The effect is cinematic momentum without excess density.
The form twists through sectional pivots with developing verse, pre-chorus, chorus, each shaped by rhythmic punctuation and controlled dynamic surges. Those ensemble stops and hits are not ornamental; they act as hinges, granting the arrangement both impact and air.
Taylor Momsen delivers a commanding performance that justifies her status as one of hard-rock’s most technically aware vocalists. Her entry answers the guitar riff like a second guitar line, focused, slightly overdriven, aligned with the bass and drums. She deploys bite and growl on the second pass, leaning into controlled rasp that sits squarely on pitch, not over it.
The chorus reveals her dynamic architecture as she climbs into her upper register without sacrificing body, supported by a mix that tucks the low mids slightly to let those overtone harmonics bloom. In the bridge, the key shift introduces contrast to a darker tonality, lower tessitura. Momsen’s chest resonance reasserts itself before she leaps into a clean falsetto burst. It’s a demonstration of register balance that makes her an outstanding rock vocalist.
Guitarist Ben Phillips builds the song around a modular riff with each return varied by voicing or harmonic add-on. The rhythm section’s fell is key as Mark Damon’s bass mirrors the guitar early, then separates subtly during the call and response, adding a sub-low bloom that thickens the stereo image. Jamie Perkins’ drumming maintains forward push through accent shifts rather than sheer volume with a well-placed snare and bass drum work steering tension across choruses.
The bridge’s acoustic-guitar layer is an inspired contrast, allowing a brief clearing that re-contextualizes the distortion when it returns. Mixing (credited to Jonathan Wyman) favors transient precision over loudness war fatigue; there’s punch, but also breath. The final chorus re-introduces the full ensemble with widened guitars, expanded reverb tail, and Momsen’s voice riding atop with unrestrained force.
“For I Am Death” signals a band unafraid of thematic or sonic extremity with production fullness to match. It ties their post-grunge lineage to contemporary fidelity with distortion sculpted, dynamics intentional, and the high energy vocal persona intact. A precise, high-voltage statement that re-establishes The Pretty Reckless as a benchmark for performance-driven hard rock in 2025. That’s the short of it!
