The amazing German hard rockers are back with their highly anticipated sophomore album. Arriving less than two years after their debut, the quintet have been hard at work on both their live shows and recorded work to follow it up. The singles so far have been kick-ass, so if the record is anything like that, we’re in for a treat! Let’s dive right in, shall we?
The album starts with a shot of adrenaline curtesy of ‘Sick in the Head’. An amazing riff, a fast drumbeat and some chaotic police stuff, it all screams Brad Marr in the best way! I love the guitars dropping out between the lines in the verse, the vocal delivery keeps the same sense of urgency but it adds some great dynamics to the track. Heck, some of it boarders on rap in the second verse, being an awesome addition to the track and something I didn’t realise Brad had in his repertoire! It all builds to a catchy-as-anything chorus, the pace staying high but it opening up a little, and the call and response vocals were a nice touch! A fun bridge leads to an excellent guitar solo, getting some Egyptian scaling in there that fits surprisigly well! The whole track is amazing; a lot of fun and the perfect way to kick off an album like this. An easy early highlight!
‘Mexico’ keeps the fun vibes going, but adds more of a punky flavour to the mix. The drum intro into the higher, pop-punk chords, coupled with the vocal delivery and harmonies, scream Green Day in all the best ways! It all builds into a massive, again infectiously catchy chorus that almost injects just a touch of Britpop/soft rock into the mix. The track is completely different to the last, yet both still fit surprisingly perfectly together, and feel so very Sweet Electric. The dynamics of the track are cool too, more of a harmonic lead line than a solo in the bridge, before it all drops down and explodes back in perfectly. It’s another amazing song, and another firm highlight for me!
The hard rock vibes return with ‘These Guns’, the riff and driving bassline giving big AC/DC vibes. For my money it’s the most Massive track on the album, and given how much I miss that band, that’s fine by me! It’s just a great, straight-forward rock song, and is a damn fun listen. The lyrics walk the line between swaggering and dripping with attitude with a little tongue in cheek, but either way it goes it works! The solo tucked away in the middle is awesome too, fitting the track excellently. It’s technical, packed full of feeling and also given plenty of time to breathe, both guitarists duelling fantastically. It’s another fantastic song, and if you like either of the bands I’ve mentioned, or Sweet Electric I’m general, you’ll love this!
‘Somewhere in the Middle’ opens on an insane, blistering guitar solo, before dropping back into a clean guitar and Brad’s great vocals. For some reason the first thing that came to mind to compare it to was The Darkness. A combination of that and Status Quo. It’s again another change of pace from the album, but is another infectiously fun and catchy song! The band have shown just how insanely talented they are throughout this whole album so far, and it’s hard not to love each song in its own right! It’s yet another song that I’d recommend to absolutely anyone, and another that I’ll happily be revisiting plenty.
We get some more punky vibes in ‘D3AD!’, but they’re heavier than in ‘Mexico’. It’s higher paced and energied and heck, we even get a scream! It’s another fun, catchy track that feels like a combination of the opening two songs from the album. It’s a lot of fun, but is maybe the first song that feels slightly ‘album track’-esque. Still, it’s a damn good song in its own right, though!
Single ‘I Remember You’ is a beautiful, emotional ballad dedicated to his mother. The opening minute is pretty punky, starting with Brad’s vocals over some massive sounding guitar power chords. The track builds excellently, adding in some more guitars and drums and vocal harmonies into a massive soundscape around the midpoint. Honestly, the darker, emotional tone gives off slight MCR vibes, and I am all for it! And, on top of all of that, we get an amazing, bluesy riff in the back half, and another phenomenal guitar solo. The lyrics speak for themselves, and I’d highly recommend the music video to accompany it, it certainly made me a little misty eyed the first time I did both. It’s such an excellent song and a really touching and memorable tribute. Another firm album highlight, and a fantastic choice for a single.
The other single from the album, ‘Long Way Back’, picks up the pace and the mood again. Tracks like it, ‘Get Up’ and the other two are all higher energy rock stompers, but then yet again all feel so different and unique. ‘Get Up’ has almost a country/bluegrass twang to it, while ‘OMG’ does have a slight bit of the disco vibe the album title eludes to, though is also heavy on the DC again. Then the closer, ‘Psycho’, has a bit of an epic arrangement to it, boarding on metal almost. However, that awesome bluesy riff firmly keeps it grounded in hard rock! Then again, we get a metalcore breakdown that is so very Trivium. Though, it still fits somehow not just the track, but the album as a whole, once again showing how effortlessly diverse and fantastic they are at writing. All are amazing in their own right and ways, and add to the album perfectly. And damn, ‘Psycho’ is such an excellent closer, and one of my favourite songs on the album. One that easily makes it onto our playlist!
Overall: I absolutely LOVED this whole album! There really isn’t a bad song throughout, it being pretty short and the very definition of all-killer-no-filler. As much as I enjoyed their debut, this is a step up from it, and really knocks it out of the park! It honestly gave me the same excited, fuzzy feeling that Massive’s debut did, and I am now desperate to see all of it live; I can’t wait for November! I’ve said it already, but I’d recommend this album to absolutely anyone, so make sure you spin it ASAP! It’s certainly going to be high on our top albums of the year list come December!
The Score: 9/10