The incredible blues/hard rock guitarist and frontman Kris Barras dropped his highly anticipated sixth studio album today! With singles promising a bit of a departure from 2024’s wildly successful Halo Effect, it seems like it is a combination of a lot of Kris and the bands sounds up to this point. Will it prove to be as big of a hit as their last record? I’m certainly curious, so let’s dive in and find out!
The title track opens things up in spectacular fashion. It’s a massive radio-style right off the bat, making it an excellent choice for a single. It’s a massive, arena-filling chorus surrounded by some awesome blues riffing. It almost has elements of Shinedown in some of Kris’ vocal lines and riffing, but also has a pretty noodly solo that feels like it goes back to his roots somewhat. It really combines elements and styles of everything that has come before for the band, and is an excellent way to kick things off! An easy early highlight!
Another heavy blues riff kicks off single ‘Beautiful Lie’, giving off immediate Alter Bridge vibes in the best ways. It all builds up towards another huge chorus, one that will surely be stuck in my head for days to come! And we get another awesome solo from the man himself tucked away in the middle. It’s technical yet full of feeling, and fits the track to perfection. It follows on from the opener perfectly and was another excellent choice for a single. It’s a simple yet incredibly effective track, and one that easily makes our playlist!
‘Riot of One’ opens on some catchy as anything vocals, the heavy riff breaking them up awesomely. The verses are massive enough as it is, but the chorus is somehow even bigger. The track has a real swagger to it, fitting the lyrics and theme excellently. It’s a fight song through and through, and if there was any justice it’s be used in UFC or WWE. It’s another really awesome song that feels like the closest feeling to his previous two albums. Having said that, it still fits in with the other songs well, the whole album having its own vibe and a real culmination of everything he’s produced so far. The outro being a ripping solo was also a masterful choice. This may be one of my favourite tracks from him so far, it really is that good!
The pace slows down for the first of the ballad tracks of the album, ‘Unspoken’. It opens on Kris’ powerful vocals over the top of an acoustic guitar, but soon builds the distortion in heading into an expectedly huge chorus. It definitely keeps the slower, more grandiose vibe to it though, breaking up the pace of the album effectively. The soloing was a huge high point of the track, channeling so much emotion through the playing and it all fitting the tone perfectly. However, the vocals are also absolutely amazing. It’s one of Kris’ best performances on the album, and the harmonies on the chorus are phenomenal. Somehow, the album is four for four on amazing songs so far!
Tracks like ‘All Falls Down’, ‘Alive’ and ‘Rewind’ are more balls to the wall hard rock stompers. All are packed full of awesome riffs and catchy vocal melodies, as well as some amazing soloing from Mr Barras. All are excellent tracks in their own right, with the latter being another personal favourite of mine from the release. And, once again, they all fit the tone of the album to a T, the whole thing being crafted and produced so well!
Meanwhile, songs like ‘Otherside’ and ‘Fake’, while still rocky, have a bit of a slower pace to them. Their verses are stripped-back a touch and they certainly feel rather anthemic. They almost have a bit of a Shinedown vibe to them, which is a lot of fun! Both are two more great tracks, and two more that I have become a little obsessed with since I first heard them. I honestly couldn’t tell you which is better either, as they are both excellent, so do yourselves a favour and check out both! They definitely feel a little closer to his Light it Up days as opposed to Halo Effect, but it once again shows just how versatile he is as an artist!
‘End of Me’ is another excellent track that really feels like it somehow pulls together every sound from the album so far. It’s got a swaggering heaviness to its riffs, while still having a bit of a plodding pace and a chorus designed to be played to huge festival crowds around the globe. And, it’s got maybe the best solo on the album too, so packed full of emotion and technicality. It’s an absolutely incredible song, and I do feel like another career highlight for Kris, honestly. It’s a real earworm, and is going to be tough to get out of my head, that’s for sure!
Closer ‘Levitate’ is one hell of a way to end things! It has possibly the heaviest riff on the album, and a pretty great, catchy both verse and chorus! It’s another great song in its own right, and really ends the release with a bang! What a song!
Overall: This is a really awesome album! It’s banger after banger from start to finish, and at just 40 minutes goes by in a flash, not at all overstaying it’s welcome. I’ve been a fan of his for nearly a decade now, and this may be the most I’ve enjoyed one of his albums from front to back. As I’ve already said, it’s got some career highlight tracks on it, while there isn’t a dud in sight! If you are at all a fan of rock music, I cannot recommend this album enough!
The Score: 9/10