Never Kill the Boy on the First Date is the debut studio album by German post-hardcore band Waterdown. It was released on May 8, 2001, through Victory Records.
Background and recording
Waterdown formed in 1999 in Osnabrück, Germany. The original lineup consisted of Christian Kruse, Holger Behrens, Jörg Schwoeppe, Claus Wilgenbusch, Ingo Rieser and Marcel Bischoff. During the summer of 2000, the band opened for Canadian hardcore band Grade on a short German tour. Members of Grade subsequently helped Waterdown obtain a recording contract with Victory Records.
The album was recorded in February 2001 at Blubox Tonstudios in Troisdorf, Germany. Guido Lucas was credited with mixing the recording.
The band's sound on the album combines hardcore punk with melodic and emo-influenced elements. Contemporary reviews also described the record as a mixture of emo, hardcore and metal, with particular attention given to the contrast between the clean and screamed vocals of Rieser and Bischoff.
Release
Never Kill the Boy on the First Date was released by Victory Records on May 8, 2001. The album contains twelve tracks and has a total running time of approximately 38 minutes.
The album was followed by Waterdown's second studio album, The Files You Have on Me, in 2003.
Reception
Contemporary reviews generally described the album as a mixture of hardcore, emo and metal, with particular attention given to Waterdown's two-vocalist approach and the contrast between melodic passages and heavier sections.
The Lost Archives gave the album a positive review, highlighting the combination of singing and screaming, double-bass drumming, tight guitar work and melodic hooks.
Track listing
All songs written by Waterdown.
The track listing and durations are documented by the Victory Records release page.
"Etikette Tötet" is a cover of a song by the German punk band Slime. Contemporary reviews identified the track as a Slime cover.
Personnel
Waterdown
Marcel Bischoff – vocals Ingo Rieser – vocals Holger Behrens – guitar Claus Wilgenbusch – guitar Christian Kruse – bass Jörg Schwoeppe – drums
The original six-member lineup is documented by Victory Records.
Production
Waterdown – writing Thilo Schenk – recording and mixing Slime – recording and mixing Guido Lucas – audio mixing Saskia Otto – artwork Guido Lucas – photography Skyline Studios – mastering
Charts
The album appeared on the CMJ New Music Report Loud Rock album chart in 2001. It was listed at number 32 in the =July 2, 2001, issue.
Chart Peak position CMJ New Music Report – Loud Rock32
References