Artist: As I Lay Dying
Album: The Powerless Rise
Date Released: May 11, 2010
Genre: Metalcore
Album Review:
This album leaked onto the net two weeks before its release on the 11th, and I must say I was hesitant to grab it. I like AILD, but they never stood out of my library as a band i'd listen to a lot. But now I understand why they received the award "Ultimate Metal God" by MTV2. Their albums have progressively gotten better, and Powerless Rise is no exception. The album holds no punches and explodes with everything that makes AILD who they are. The album is solid, has a good flow, and very good sound, being produced in Lambesis' home studio like Ocean was. The screaming varies a little bit throughout, which I thought made it interesting. It went from Lambesis' normal scream, to a thrashy scream, to some deathcore sounding vocals (bonus points!)
To top it off, the clean vocals are serene and fittingly sparse to fit this angry and explosive release. The guitar solos are very refined and Nick Hipa's talent shows. I am not sorry I grabbed this album. It has instantly made it into my top metal albums for the year. Grab it as soon as it comes out!!
Rating: 9 out of 10
Song-by-song:
Beyond Our Suffering: This song is so angry sounding, reflecting the deeper growl with the higher scream, as if it is a confrontation being dealt with audibly. An amazing guitar solo near 1:45.
Anodyne Sea: Like I said, this album holds nothing back. This song hits you in the face, and even has what you'd call a breakdown! What more could you ask for? Vocals are tight in this song. I guess there is more one can ask.
Without Conclusion: Indeed, this album is without a conclusion. Am I sad? No. This album was intended to explode like a grenade in our eardrums, and leave without a trace. No sappy, sorry songs on this album. And i'm fine with that. Excellent (prophetic) track!
Parallels: The drums, the guitar, the vocals....Adam D did an amazing job with producing this album! Another nice solo around 3:30.
The Plague: This song starts with very deathcore-like vocals. And the screams that follow are so raw, they give the song oomph that no one else could add. By this time, you'll have noticed that the vocals are kind of gone...
Anger and Apathy: Starting this out is a harmonized guitar riff, and then explodes into some palm-muted goodness. A decent track if you ask me.
Condemned: This song has a very heavy thrash influence, as can be found by the drum pattern and guitar pattern. Even the vocals are "yelled" instead of screamed during the chorus. Even the guitar solo is very Slayer-like. Well done!
Upside Down Kingdom: A nice bass line starts the song, and the pre-chorus is another "breakdown", and it is here that the clean vocals make a re-appearance.
Vacancy: This song just fits its title. It has an empty and deserted sound to it, something I always loved about this band; the music can fit the theme of the song.
The Only Constant is Change: My only qualm with the album is that 3 of the songs are faded in. It gets old, but it's still doable. This song has a neat message to it, though, so I hold nothing against it really.
The Blinding of False Light: This is the longest song on the album, but as it fades in, you are greeted with very haunting sounding vocals. I almost wet my pants listening to this song. Way to end an awesome album fellas!
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