Ohio’s newest alt metal band, Yesterday’s Hero, are set to release their debut album this coming Friday. Comparing their sound to everything from Chevelle, Rise Against and Killswitch Engage, it’s big shoes to fill, and I’m excited to dive right in and check it out!
Opener ‘Killing Me’ opens on amazing, low, sludgy riff. It’s heavy and yet still encapsulates perfectly that radio metal sound they are going for. Like a mixture of Black Stone Cherry and Seether. The vocals come in over the top and immediately transport me back to the early 2000s. My god, it’s so Three Days Grace in the best ways. It all builds to a fantastic, big, chorus, one that I can see easily filling arenas. Also, the scream coming out of the chorus is awesome. The bridge didn’t have much to it, but it doesn’t matter, the riffs and chorus are enough to love here!
‘What I Needed’ opens on another great riff, heavier and chuggier than the last. It almost feels like a lighter thrash song, which is really cool. Again, the vocals fit perfectly over the top. And, once again, it builds into another massive, slower chorus. It’s a hugely catchy chorus and will do so well on any rock radio station. We even get a cheeky, awesome guitar solo tucked in here, bridging the gap between the choruses perfectly and epically. And we even get a heavy fucking breakdown near the end that was not expected but VERY welcome. Damn, what a great song. It easily makes our playlist!
As expected, the title track opens on a sick riff, as is standard by now. I like the interplay between the two guitars call-and-response the riff to each other left and right of the mix, it was a really cool mixing decision. The tempo goes back to the stomping, sludgy feel of the opening song, almost reminding me of Newstead’s solo album he put out like a decade ago. Or even Avenged’s Hail to the King album or a band we’re very familiar with here at Overtone, South of Salem. The chorus is another awesome one, but honestly the whole thing is catchy in terms of vocals, especially with the backing through the verses. Another fun solo is snuck in the middle of this track, but it’s a lot more radio-structured and predictable than the previous song!
By fourth track, ‘Bounce’, I was starting to get very used to the formula. Fun, heavy, mid-tempo riffing, big choruses and a radio-friendly structure. The breakdown was another fun one, but kind of expected now given the track title. The same could be said for ‘Be’ and the final two tracks on the album. All of the four are awesome tracks and I’d definitely listen to them again. However, they are kinda predictable and all that similar that it’s hard to write about them in detail!
Overall: This is a great album. As I’ve already said, my only issue with it is that all the tracks are fairly similar. However, they all sound awesome, being the perfect blend of the early 2000s alt-metal sound and a more modern take, almost bordering on Phil Campbell at times. And, as similar as it all was, I would happily take a lot more of it. Seven tracks just wasn’t enough for me! It sounds great and I think these guys are going to be a big deal soon, if this album is anything to go off!
The score: 7.5/10