Somehow, this has become a week of rebirths. From Paramore’s return to the rock world to In Flames and Delain returning with rather different line-ups to bands like Pierce the Veil releasing an album after seven years, there’s a lot of reinvention here! Without further ado, let’s take a look at all the new music!
Paramore: This Is Why
Paramore are back to rock, or at least the closest they’ve been since their self-titled release a decade ago. Rejoice! It feels a little new wave and even jazz-infused, which I definitely enjoyed. It kept it interesting and separated it from the rest of the generic pop-rock out there. Don’t get me wrong, all hint of the punk edge the band had at the start of their careers has disappeared, but this is an interesting evolution and I cannot fault their creativity. Heck, ‘The News’ is practically a math rock track in the vein of FES. It’s awesome.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine. ‘Running Out of Time’ didn’t do much for me, and felt more like their last album. Same with ‘Big Man, Little Dignity’, though that did have slower RHCP vibes too. Same with ‘Figure 8’ and ‘Liar’. However, the darker, slower pop of the back half of the album was really interesting, giving off ‘Road Trippin” vibes. I found myself enjoying them a lot, and have listened to them a fair bit over the weekend. They’re not quite at the level of the pop-rock singles, but ‘Thick Skull’ in particular is fantastic. And Hayley Williams’ vocals sound just as phenomenal as ever.
The album has grown on me more and more with each listen. If it keeps doing such, it could be high up there on albums of the year come December. For now, 8.5/10.
In Flames: Foregone
As I mentioned before, In Flames have had a turbulent-at-best line-up, especially in recent years. While the vast majority of the members played together on the last album (aside for Megadeth alumni Chris Broderick), The Halo Effect comprises of other former members of In Flames and the current IF line-up features no original members. So while that may all sound confusing and insane, just take this away from it all… this new album slaps.
The melodeath godfathers pull out a heavy, catchy, AWESOME album from start to finish. Of course singles like ‘Meet Your Maker’ and the two part ‘Forgone’ are awesome. However, even album tracks like ‘Bleeding Out’ and the ballady ‘Pure Light of Mind’ are just as good as those, if not even better. However, there isn’t a bad track on the album, and it’s arranged phenomenally well too. It’s honestly one of my favourite albums the band have put out, and kinda blows the Halo Effect album from last year out of the water. It perfectly blends together their nu metal and death influences, and makes for an album that’s gonna be hard to beat. 9.5/10
Pierce the Veil: The Jaws of Life
Now, I’d asked Max to do this one as he’d most surely be more positive about it than I would be. Unfortunately he ran out of time, soy uo have my review…
It was better than the singles I heard had made me expect. ‘Death of an Executioner’ feels like a more modern, electronic-style My Chem track, as did ‘Flawless Execution’ and ‘The Jaws of Life’. Both reminded me heavily of the back half of Black Parade, ‘Sleep’ and ‘I Don’t Love You’, and man do I LOVE that album. ‘Resilience’ was a good, steady ballad too. The final few tracks on the album bored me a little, but honestly it was the singles that were the biggest culprits. The chorus of ‘Pass the Nirvana’ is okay and kinda Dinosaur Pile-Up. But ‘Even When I’m Not With You’ and ‘Emergency Contact’ both felt very boring indie.
It’s a hard one for me to judge overall, but I actually enjoyed more than I didn’t. I’mma give it a 7/10, pleasantly surprised!
Delain: Dark Waters
We’ve already reviewed this awesome slab of symphonic metal. Check it out here.
You Me At Six: Truth Decay
I was up and down with the last YMA6 album. The first three tracks on it were amazing, but then it went rather drastically downhill into indie meh-ness. I was never the hugest fan of the band growing up but have been told that the singles so far are more like their old stuff. Hopefully that means it’s a step in the right direction.
Opener ‘Deep Cuts’ for sure sounds like their old sound. So did ‘God Bless the 90s Kids’. If I’m honest most of the tracks did have more of a heavier, rockier edge to them than the previous album. It was alright. As someone who happily admits to not being a massive fan of the band, I found myself enjoying these enough to at least sit through the album in one go. I’m typically not an Enter Shikari fan, but my favourite track was easily ‘No Future? Yeah Right’ with Rou Reynolds providing guest vocals. It was nice to hear something heavier and Rou’s screams were excellent.
Honestly my main issue was the length, though the occasional cringy lyrics were a close second. 13 tracks was a bit much for me, especially when the first half of the album is MUCH better than the second half, in my opinion. Still though, it’s far from a bad album, just not my sort of thing. 6.5/10
Chase Rice: I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell
Country time! Chase at least wins the competition for the most provocative album title of this list. Sure, some death metal later on comes close, but this surely pissed off at least a few oblivious cowboys out there!
The album itself is pretty good! It’s slower, more stripped-back country than most we cover here, but it was still enjoyable and definitely one to chuck on when you just want to relax. ‘Way Down Yonder’ is a plodding, surprisingly dark, epic country song. The other single, ‘Key West & Colorado’, is a catchy as fuck ballad. ‘Bench Seat’ is even slower and simply arranged but honestly beautiful. ‘Bad Day to be a Cold Beer’ is more of the modern country style and speed and is fantastic. Heck, we get prog country with ‘Oklahoma’ and the Read Southall Band, and it’s great. The solo is insanely impressively written and reminds me of some Brothers Osbourne or Zack Brown Band.
The rest of the album is awesome too, but damn, there are so many highlights on it. And it wasn’t over an hour and 20+ songs, it being pretty concise for a country album. 9/10, this was awesome.
Distant: Heritage
Move over Darko US, there’s a new contender for the weird/extreme deathcore throne. This has a similar scratchy, electronic, massively heavy feel to it as the aforementioned band, and I love it. There’s something about music being so over-the-top heavy that I can’t help but admire the talent and effort that went into trying to beat out every other band in brutalness. ‘Paradigm Shift’ is one of the most ballsy, best opening songs I’ve heard in ages and easily makes our playlist. The album doesn’t let up at all either, with tracks like the guest-filled ‘Argent Justice’ and the title track featuring everyone’s favourite pig-squealing boy at the minute, Will Ramos. It’s not an album for the faint of heart, but if you’re into the heavier side of music, this is definitely one for you! 8/10
Frozen Dawn: Decline of the Enlightened Gods
The third album from the atmospheric black metal band and first in nearly a decade, Decline of the Enlightened Gods has a lot to live up to. To my relatively-untrained-to-black-metal ears, they did a pretty decent job of it. From the awesome death riffs to the great atmosphere created by the more ambient sounds and touches, it hooked me in immediately and kept me there. The opener was awesome but ‘Frozen Kings’ was my favourite track, it felt a little more accessible and that guitar solo ripped. Also, the title track is proggy awesomeness. Another album for the heavy music fans, but another great album for them! 7.5/10