Tungsten dedicates its latest release, If Death Doesn’t Change You, to lead singer Al Hodge’s recently deceased father and a departed close friend. It mustn’t help matters that the band hailed from Chalmette, a city that took one of the hardest hits from Hurricane Katrina. These facts in mind, the album makes no attempts to conceal Hodge’s pain and grief; just look at the title. The song titles themselves read like grief counseling stages: “It Was the Day He Died,” “Got to Get Through This,” “See Me Through”… If nothing, the members of Tungsten are extremely talented, brotherly rhythm section Steve and Mark Talamo pulling off the New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound of the ’80s with passion and proficiency. The problem with the album lies in some of its lyrics. I would never begrudge anyone the chance to vent their emotions, because we’ve all dealt with unbearable loss at one time or another. But the lyrics to some of these songs are far too straightforward. Most of the songs here read like either eulogies or unedited diary entries. I think that’s why the album’s best song, “Drive,” works so well. Not only is it the steadiest, most relentless track on the album, but its lyrics come the closest to true metaphor as Hodge compares his past and losses to “ruins that follow me close behind” in his rearview mirror. It actually sounds like he’s distanced himself from the pain just enough to show us exactly how he’s feeling. The listeners are compelled to feel what Hodge is feeling, instead of merely just hearing it. And that is the difference between a mere diary and the delicate art of songwriting, even if the sound is as far from delicate as Tungsten’s classic brand of metal.