Sevendust - Blood & Stone (2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rise Records, October 23, 2020

Tracklist

1. Dying to Live

2. Love

3. Blood From a Stone

4. Feel Like Going On

5. What You've Become

6. Kill Me

7. Nothing Left To See Anymore

8. Desperation

9. Criminal

10. Against the World

11. Alone

12. Wish You Well

13. The Day I Tried to Live

 

 Twelve albums in, Sevendust has little to prove.  The band long ago established their longevity and status as a respected and influential alternative metal group.  However, while Sevendust has gained a dedicated fanbase, they've remained slightly below the radar for an active rock band that's been around since the late 1990s.   In their earlier years, Sevendust was known for being one of the first prominent African-American fronted alternative metal bands at the time.  Lajon Witherspoon and his powerful, soul-influenced vocals have given the band a distinctive, unmistakable sound.  Looking at the track titles, one might assume the band to be in a state of turbulence and internal conflict, but that is not the case.  In actuality they get along well, and Sevendust's lineup of five has remained remarkably steady over the years.  The only change came in 2005 when guitarist Clint Lowery left temporarily and Sonny Mayo took his place for three albums.

Blood & Stone is not as intense as its predecessor, All I See is War, which was heavy and riff-driven on eleven of twelve songs.  Tracks like "Dying to Live", "Kill Me" and "Blood From a Stone" are fairly standard Sevendust songs similar to previous material on Cold Day Memory or Black Out the Sun.  These tracks are solid for what they are but don't deviate from the band's previously established sound.  "Desperation" is a spiritual, passionate track where Lajon sings about the desire to be free and finding a place to breathe.   It's unclear whether these references are in the context of an interpersonal relationship or addressing society at large, but they could easily apply to both.   Sevendust has had a larger social message of antiracism and unity from the very beginning with "Black", the first track on their self-titled debut and a quote that appeared inside the album credits.   

Other songs are focused on melody and hooks.   The fourth track, "Feel Like Going On" is the album's first power ballad of sorts.  "Alone" is reminiscent of the direction Sevendust took on Seasons.  Lajon's singing drives the track and the backing music stays restrained until the bridge.  Another slower, Seasons-style song "Criminal" pairs its frustrated lyrics with a moody post-grunge/nu-metal guitar sound.   Now these songs are nothing I would describe as "arena ready" hooks but left to their own devices, Sevendust have never aimed for being commercial anyway.   They are focused on making great music together.   The most accessible cut is their cover of Soundgarden's "The Day I Tried to Live", which has been pushed as a radio single. 

Overall Blood & Stone offers a strong performance from everyone involved.  Guitarist Clint Lowery has been an integral part of the band's quality since his return from a three-album absence.  He does seem to have a more significant role on here as a backup vocalist for Lajon, with "Love" being the song where he is the most prominent.  Lowery has stayed busy with his own solo material, releasing both an album and an EP earlier this year.  The same could be said for drummer Morgan Rose, who has a solo EP on the way this year.   The album does not have any songs that stand out as being bad or unappealing, with the weaker tracks simply being average at worst.   Sevendust maintain all elements of their signature sound.  They don't deviate from what works for them, though it is clear growth and change has happened when you look back at their discography.  In contrast to the passionate and often vitriolic lyrics on albums like Alpha and Animosity, subsequent albums used swearing sparsely, some dropping it altogether.  You get the sense that the band achieved a real catharsis on Alpha and would not write an album that angry again.  Progression is vital for a band to stay relevant over time.  Sevendust has maintained their core sound, not losing what made them a prominent band in the alternative metal scene, while growing and maturing along the way.   Blood & Stone earns a score of 9/10.

Northlane - Mesmer (2017)

UNFD/Rise Records, March 24, 2017

Tracklist

1. Citizen

2. Colourwave

3. Savage

4. Solar

5.Heartmachine

6. Intuition

7. Zero-One
8. Fade
9. Render
10. Veridian

11. Paragon 

 

A little over a year ago, the Australian progressive metal band Northlane released the dark and experimental project Alien, which became my favorite album of 2019.   Part of understanding Alien involves taking a look back at Mesmer, the band's 2017 album that preceded it.   Mesmer was released as a "surprise" full-length on March 24, 2017 with no foreshadowing of its release.  A major step up in quality from Node, this project marked Marcus Bridge's second album as frontman.  Mesmer was not only an excellent album in its own right, it showed glimpses of what was to come next for Northlane. 

The eleven tracks of Mesmer maintain an atmospheric, spacey overtone at some point or another.  Aggressive riffs from Jon Deiley and drop-tuned basslines from Alex Milovic set a heavy backdrop that is balanced out with atmospheric vocals and electronics.  Compared with Node, the overall presentation is more cohesive, as the writing and structure builds around Marcus Bridge's vocal skill rather than simply integrating his voice into the band's previous sound.  Showcasing his beautiful vocal delivery, tracks like "Colourwave", "Zero-One" and "Savage" float in and out and emphasize melody.  The catchiest song "Heartmachine" recalls Periphery with an infectious djent riff and vocal melody.   "Intuition", the heaviest and angriest track, follows as a strong counterpoint.   Northlane show that dynamics are a clear strength.  Overall, the pacing and structure of Mesmer is excellent.  This includes "Veridian", the song I consider the weakest of the bunch.

While I consider Alien to be Northlane's opus in terms of concept, structure and lyricism, Mesmer shows great strength in the songwriting department as well.  The music and writing work in sync - the subject matter reflects the sound of these songs.  A key example of this is album highlight "Savage" which is about space exploration and opens with some otherworldly sounding production.  On Mesmer, rhythm guitarist Josh Smith wrote most of the lyrics, while two tracks were written by Marcus Bridge.  While the songs are about specific situations, they vary in subject matter.  Opener "Citizen" is about surveillance and refers to the CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden.  The final track "Paragon" is a tribute to Architects guitarist Tom Searle, who died from cancer in 2016.   Other tracks deal with personal issues such as "Colourwave", which Josh wrote about "a really dark time in my life" and  "Heartmachine", which is about a former girlfriend of Marcus and the fallout they both experienced.  However, none of these songs feel out of place here.  "Fade" which mentions Marcus' father's death.  This was the first Northlane song to discuss his violent and troubled father, but was a subject that would be discussed more in-depth on Alien.  And like on Alien, the music of one song often flows right into the next track.  So while these songs may be discussing different topics, the album maintains a cohesion and unity throughout its runtime.  The production, which is neither raw nor polished, is also consistent.  While overall it could be sharper and clearer, it gets the job done.

Northlane is a band of two different eras.  Their early material with Adrian had a distinct sound that other artists would follow after and be influenced by (Invent Animate's Stillworld album is a good example).  With the arrival of Marcus they again found a niche, emphasing atmosphere and his vocal strengths.  Through it all, Northlane is a band that never stops moving forward, always trying something new while keeping the quality high.  Mesmer scores a 9.5/10 rating.

Devil Sold His Soul - Blessed and Cursed (2010)

Century Media, July 12, 2010

Tracklist

1. Tides

2. Drowning/Sinking

3. Callous Heart

4. An Ocean of Lights

5. Frozen

6.The Disappointment

7. Crane Lake
8. A Foreboding Sky
9. The Weight of Faith
10. Truth has Come

This entry is one in a series of ten-year retrospectives from my favorite albums of 2010. The placement of a band named Devil Sold His Soul might seem a little ironic immediately following the section on Haste the Day, but this post-hardcore/post-metal group from the United Kingdom has a sound that is far more angelic than devilish.  Somewhat under the radar, Devil Sold His Soul is probably one that deserves more attention as well.  In 2010 they toured with fellow U.K. – based group Architects and released an intricate and beautiful album on the Century Media label.   

Blessed and Cursed marks their second full-length release.  The title alludes to the duality of the post-hardcore sound they explore here, but I feel like this one has more going for it than one might expect.  Additional instruments, including the piano, are layered along with the guitars in a way that enhances the mood and never feels generic.  Here we have hooks that would feel at home on a modern rock/post-hardcore band paired with song structures that are often lengthy and structured differently from the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge format.  So while the vocal approach is fairly typical of this genre with a transition from an angry rasp to smooth crooning cleans, the track lengths and progressive song structures give these songs a refreshing novelty.  "A Foreboding Sky" is a nice example, starting as a piano-driven song and gradually building up across the song's eight and a half minute runtime.  This is the longest track on the album, but the majority of the songs on Blessed and Cursed exceed six minutes and take their time to build up to a satisfying finish.  

Devil Sold His Soul is clearly a band that knows what they are doing.  The vocal melodies and hooks are pretty enough to make the songs immediately accessible, and together with interesting progressions and atmosphere you get nothing short of a winning combination.  Thus, this album receives a score of 8/10. 

Lamb of God - Lamb of God (2020)

Epic/Nuclear Blast Records, June 19, 2020

Tracklist

1. Memento Mori

2. Checkmate

3.Gears

4. Reality Bath

5. New Colossal Hate

6. Resurrection Man

7. Poison Dream
8. Routes
9. Bloodshot Eyes
10. On the Hook
11. Ghost Shaped People (bonus)

Whenever a band self-titles an upcoming project eight albums into their career, it can  be for any number of reasons. In Lamb of God's case, the title acts as a statement that this project is through and through, unmistakably a Lamb of God album. If you are a fan of the Richmond-based metal crew, you know what you are getting here, as Lamb of God doubles down on the elements that make them unique. However, one noticeable thing has changed - the lineup. New drummer Art Cruz appears on his first album with the band, replacing Chris Adler who left in 2019.  

Due to the release date getting pushed back to June, Lamb of God premiered several singles from the album ahead of its release. These early tracks range in quality from excellent to average. The first of these was "Checkmate", which is structurally and stylistically similar to "Ghost Walking" off the Resolution album.  It is pretty decent, but nothing remarkable. "Memento Mori" was the second single release, and as far as opening tracks go it's a perfect choice.   Reminiscent of the sound on VII: Sturm und Drang while sounding unique, "Memento Mori" incorporates rare clean vocals from Randy Blythe along with a moody atmosphere and a dynamic sound.  "New Colossal Hate" is a pretty standard Lamb of God song, and "Routes" was the fourth and final single to be released.  Inspired by Randy Blythe's trip to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation during the NODAPL protests, "Routes" is one of the stronger songs on the album and features Testament vocalist Chuck Billy (who himself is Native American).  This track is relentless and thrashy yet melodic.  Along with "Poison Dream", which features Jamey Jasta, "Memento Mori" and "Routes" are the best songs on this self-titled effort.

Randy Blythe is a very intelligent man and this is clear in his writing.  The majority of the songs here are focused on a current societal issue and deal with it in a nuanced way. His lyricism is very strong whether he's discussing school shootings ("Reality Bath") the opioid crisis ("On the Hook") xenophobia ("New Colossal Hate") or the Dakota Access pipeline ("Routes"). On a local scale, "On the Hook" is especially relevant within the band's home state of Virginia.  The lyrics discuss the prevalent narcotic addiction and unemployment in the southwest area of the state (and Appalachia coal country in general) after the closure of the mines.  However, the heavy "Resurrection Man" seems a bit out of place topically, as it pays homage to the old Mercyful Fate song "Evil" and the lyrics are not as strong compared with the rest of the album.  

Overall, this is thoroughly a Lamb of God album that will satisfy all fans of the band.  That being said, this band has stronger albums in their discography.  It's not something I would consider their magnum opus or an album that breaks new ground, but it holds true to their Pure American Metal standard.   Lamb of God continues to consistently deliver quality, and this album receives a 7.5/10 rating. 

Hollow Front - Loose Threads (2020)

Independent release, June 19, 2020

Tracklist

1. Afflicted

2. Nameless

3. Loose Threads

4. Left Behind

5. Vagabond

6. Wishful Thinking

7. Falling Apart
8. P.A.N.I.C.
9. Ghosted
10. The Itch
11. Serendipity

Hollow Front is an independent Michigan-based metalcore band. Their debut full-length, Hollow Threads, is their first release in two years, following an EP called Still Life which was put out on local label Beckwith Records. This group plays a style of metalcore in the vein of bands like Invent Animate, Wage War or Fit For a King that occasionally veers into a heavier direction.  The atmospheric opener "Afflicted" belies Hollow Front's aggressive side, as this track is actually much more melodic than the rest of the album. "Afflicted" is a clear highlight which shows the band's strengths right away.  Also appearing early on, the title track follows a similar direction, again emphasizing guitarist Dakota Alvarez's clean vocals in the beginning before the heavy sections that come later.  Both of these tracks retain a nice back-and-forth dynamic between the cleans and Tyler Tate's harsh vocals.  Dakota Alvarez's vocals are underutilized in this album and I would have liked to hear more from him.  He's got a great voice and deserves to be prominent on more than just two out of eleven tracks.

The band shows a few different sides to their sound.  While the two most melodic tracks show up at the start of the album, the most aggressive ones appear towards the end.  Tracks nine and ten, "Ghosted" and "The Itch", are the heaviest songs.  Both are intense, breakdown-heavy and cross over into deathcore territory.   Elsewhere, Loose Threads has an inclination for incorporating keyboards into heavy tracks. "Nameless" and "Falling Apart" use a simple keyboard line for some contrast atop an aggressive sound with vocals that are predominantly screamed.  Here they seem to be going for a similar style as Make Them Suffer's "Widower", and it works for them.  "P.A.N.I.C." also has a brief quiet keyboard section in the middle. 

Loose Threads does show room for growth.  Tracks like "Left Behind" and "Wishful Thinking" are merely average and lack a strong hook or staying power apart from with an interesting guitar line in the opening.  The album's pacing could also be improved as we have a long stretch of similar sounding aggressive metalcore tracks following the first three tracks.  The tracklist is a bit unbalanced and seems to just get heavier and more aggressive as it goes along.  While their sound isn't particularly unique, this is not an issue for a group at such an early stage of their career.  Hollow Front is a promising young band with room to grow and further develop their own identity in the future.   For now, they have a solid debut album to their credit which gets a score of 7/10.

Haste the Day - Attack of the Wolf King (2010)

Solid State Records, June 29, 2010

Tracklist

1.Wake Up the Sun

2. Dog Like Vultures

3.The Quiet, Deadly Ticking

4. Travesty

5.Merit for Sadness

6.The Un-Manifest

7. The Place Where Most Deny
8. White As Snow
9. Crush Resistance
10. Walk With a Crooked Spin
11. My Name is Darkness

This entry is one in a series of ten-year retrospectives from my favorite albums of 2010.

There seems to be a theme of wolves within Christian metalcore, with bands such as Wolves at the Gate and To Speak of Wolves making their mark in the scene.  Before Wolves at the Gate released their debut album, there was Attack of the Wolf King, which I consider to be Haste the Day’s best and most engaging album by a wide margin.  The band has had some lineup changes over the years most notably with original harsh vocalist Jimmy Ryan leaving before Pressure the Hinges and returning after the band reunited.  The band has definitely made some catchy and memorable songs over the years like “Stitches”, “Chorus of Angels” and “When Everything Falls”, but the albums themselves tended to be follow a similar formula the whole way through.  Attack of the Wolf King, however, mixes different styles and moods showing different creative ideas and within the metalcore genre.

This album is not short of standout tracks.  “Travesty” has an upbeat chorus and sounds bright and uplifting, while “Crush Resistance” is aggressive and menacing.  Taking a slower approach but still heavily guitar driven is “White As Snow”.  This song follows an alternative metal style and is capped off with an excellent guitar riff that stands in place of a bridge.  As one would infer from the title and cover art, the lyrics are themed around sheep and wolves (and also include multiple references to jackals).  Stephen Keech's vocals also are much improved from his first album, particularly the lower range screaming.  

The songwriting is another strong point, as the songs use metaphors to tell a story and making good use of imagery.  Some of the songs are rather clear in terms of their message like "Travesty", which talks about grace, while others like "Walk With a Crooked Spine" are more ambiguous.  The sheep and wolf theme stays consistent throughout the album, and it's a nicely done concept record.  As a whole, Attack of the Wolf King is easily the most interesting and diverse album Haste the Day has released.  It earns a score of 8/10. 

My Top 25 Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 2019

Earlier in 2020, I finalized and published an in-depth list of my favorite metal and hard rock albums from that year.  I am uploading that Google Docs file to this blog as well, and may individually revisit some of these albums on my blog as the need arises.  The full ranking is below, and you can follow the link below for a detailed explanation of my choices.

The Full Breakdown

The Basic List:  

25. Insomnium - Heart Like a Grave (Oct 4) 7/10

24. Valis Ablaze - Render (Jul 19) 7/10

23. Downfall of Gaia - Ethic of Radical Finitude (Feb 8) 7/10

22. Gravemind - Conduit (Jul 19) 7.5/10

21. Mark Morton - Anesthetic (Mar 1) 7.5/10

20. Fever 333 - Strength in Numb333rs (Jan 11) 7.5/10

19. Palisades - Erase the Pain (Dec 28) 7.5/10

18. Wrvth - No Rising Sun (Aug 23) 7.5/10

17. Wolves at the Gate - Eclipse (Jul 26) 7.5/10

16. Lacuna Coil - Black Anima (Oct 11) 7.5/10

15.  La Dispute - Panorama (Mar 22) 8/10

14. Killswitch Engage - Atonement (Aug 16) 8/10

13. Jinjer - Macro (Oct 25) 8/10

12. Death Angel - Humanicide (May 31) 8/10

11. Dayseeker - Sleeptalk (Sep 27) 8/10

10.  Tool - Fear Inoculum (Aug 30) 8/10

9. Fire From the Gods - American Sun (Nov 1) 8/10

8. After the Burial - Evergreen (Apr 19) 8/10

7. Auras - Binary Garden (Jul 12) 8.5/10

6. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind (Aug 9) 8.5/10

5. Cult of Luna - A Dawn to Fear (Sep 20) 9/10

4. Fit For An Autopsy - The Sea of Tragic Beasts (Oct 25) 9/10

3. Thousand Below - Gone In Your Wake (Oct 4) 9/10

2. Unprocessed - Artificial Void (Aug 9) 9.5/10

1. Northlane - Alien (Aug 2) 10/10