Post by Josh McLaughlin on Sept 28, 2011 8:31:25 GMT -5
Crossfade
"We All Bleed"
Produced by Les Hall
Released June 2011
After a powerful, hugely successful debut album, Crossfade were met with disappointing reception upon the release of their second; with the lack of sales eventuating in their label dropping them. This put the band in a dark place, and ultimately nearly led to their demise. Despite these troubles, Crossfade returned after a five year absence with their third album "We All Bleed" which was released in June this year. Will it live up to it's long anticipation, and get the band back of track or will they fade away once more?
The album starts off with the pumping, heavy tune "Dead Memories" which is dominated by drums, with the vocals and guitars kind of fading into the background. It's not a bad song, by any means, but it is nothing special, especially for the first song on a new album. "Killing Me Inside" adds a bit more harmony, and sounds a bit more reminiscent to past Crossfade songs. It has great moments, such as the stringy acoustic guitar intervals; but ultimately it's more standard post-grunge music; with little originality setting it out from so many other bands, and certainly not a song that will win over a plethora of new fans.
"Prove You Wrong" opens with a weird electro interval that sounds like a cross-between Owl City and Donnie Darko. When the rock kicks in, it's once again fairly generic. It's clear at this point that, three songs in, this album is a lot darker and heavier than past releases, and due to that it's missing the mainstream appeal that their first album (and second too, to an extent) had. A high point of this song is the marching drums in the bridge, which lead into a very futuristic sounding solo, almost like a futuristic robot war. Cool.
"Lay Me Down" is next, bringing more heavy low guitar riffs that kind of all sound the same after awhile. Ed Sloan's vocals sound distant and haunting in the spacious and open verse, leading into a shredding breakdown for the chorus. Probably the best song on the album so far, but still not to the level of their past albums. "Dead Cocaine" is a good ballad, as it has something that the rest of the songs haven't shown me yet; feeling and passion. The lyrics seem corny to me at times, but are at least sounding sincere. "Suffocate" has a great build up as the song crescendos for a minute and a half; featuring spacy guitar, marching drums and almost chant-like vocals. It seems that the songs on the album are getting catchier and more "mainstream" towards the end of the album; which makes little sense to me.
"I Think You Should Know" is very reminscent of early Crossfade; I like it. It's probably the most accessible song on the album, while still having an haunting, original feel. "We All Bleed" is another heavy song that oddly seems as if its merely filler on the album, despite being the title track. "Open Your Eyes" is another more accessible song, but still lacking that pop and lasting factor to help it rise above the other hundred rock albums released this year. The last track, "I'm a Believer" starts off well, and builds from a soft, acoustic-esque song to a rocking track. It's quite a decent tune, but it's long winding solo and bridge simply lost my interest; as it seemed to go on forever without direction, kind of like the album in general.
This album isn't bad, by any means, but basically it left me pondering the direction they took. Did they decide that catchy, modern rock music wasn't working anymore, and that messy, inaccessible grunge would be better? No songs on this album were bad, but nothing rose above decent. It seemed to lack direction, and none of the songs really caught in my mind. It's a disappointing, and almost lazy effort by the band, who seem complacant with where they are. The only song I'll probably listen to much in the future is "Dear Cocaine".
5/10
"We All Bleed"
Produced by Les Hall
Released June 2011
After a powerful, hugely successful debut album, Crossfade were met with disappointing reception upon the release of their second; with the lack of sales eventuating in their label dropping them. This put the band in a dark place, and ultimately nearly led to their demise. Despite these troubles, Crossfade returned after a five year absence with their third album "We All Bleed" which was released in June this year. Will it live up to it's long anticipation, and get the band back of track or will they fade away once more?
The album starts off with the pumping, heavy tune "Dead Memories" which is dominated by drums, with the vocals and guitars kind of fading into the background. It's not a bad song, by any means, but it is nothing special, especially for the first song on a new album. "Killing Me Inside" adds a bit more harmony, and sounds a bit more reminiscent to past Crossfade songs. It has great moments, such as the stringy acoustic guitar intervals; but ultimately it's more standard post-grunge music; with little originality setting it out from so many other bands, and certainly not a song that will win over a plethora of new fans.
"Prove You Wrong" opens with a weird electro interval that sounds like a cross-between Owl City and Donnie Darko. When the rock kicks in, it's once again fairly generic. It's clear at this point that, three songs in, this album is a lot darker and heavier than past releases, and due to that it's missing the mainstream appeal that their first album (and second too, to an extent) had. A high point of this song is the marching drums in the bridge, which lead into a very futuristic sounding solo, almost like a futuristic robot war. Cool.
"Lay Me Down" is next, bringing more heavy low guitar riffs that kind of all sound the same after awhile. Ed Sloan's vocals sound distant and haunting in the spacious and open verse, leading into a shredding breakdown for the chorus. Probably the best song on the album so far, but still not to the level of their past albums. "Dead Cocaine" is a good ballad, as it has something that the rest of the songs haven't shown me yet; feeling and passion. The lyrics seem corny to me at times, but are at least sounding sincere. "Suffocate" has a great build up as the song crescendos for a minute and a half; featuring spacy guitar, marching drums and almost chant-like vocals. It seems that the songs on the album are getting catchier and more "mainstream" towards the end of the album; which makes little sense to me.
"I Think You Should Know" is very reminscent of early Crossfade; I like it. It's probably the most accessible song on the album, while still having an haunting, original feel. "We All Bleed" is another heavy song that oddly seems as if its merely filler on the album, despite being the title track. "Open Your Eyes" is another more accessible song, but still lacking that pop and lasting factor to help it rise above the other hundred rock albums released this year. The last track, "I'm a Believer" starts off well, and builds from a soft, acoustic-esque song to a rocking track. It's quite a decent tune, but it's long winding solo and bridge simply lost my interest; as it seemed to go on forever without direction, kind of like the album in general.
This album isn't bad, by any means, but basically it left me pondering the direction they took. Did they decide that catchy, modern rock music wasn't working anymore, and that messy, inaccessible grunge would be better? No songs on this album were bad, but nothing rose above decent. It seemed to lack direction, and none of the songs really caught in my mind. It's a disappointing, and almost lazy effort by the band, who seem complacant with where they are. The only song I'll probably listen to much in the future is "Dear Cocaine".
5/10