By John Bedard
There is something special about a good old-fashioned rock album. It is a genre that I think can uniquely be upbeat while at the same time make you totally content to sit back and just vibe with it. When done well, it is the kind of music that is playing in the background while you are having a good time. Whether that is chilling with friends or a good road trip. So how does ‘The Other Side’ stack up?
I’m going to come right out and say it, I love the vocal style here. It is powerful and biting. Vaguely reminding me of the vocal style you might expect if you took the style we find in the softer track from Breaking Benjamin and Five Finger Death Punch and put them together but then made it your own. You can tell the style is in the same family but does not feel derivative. The heavier tracks on the album lean more into their own tone making for a nice evolution from track to track keeping the experience from ever getting stale.
Musically there is a lot to love too. The guitar tone is heavy and driving but, in some tracks, cleans up nicely to give a good variety. Plus there are great guitar solos mixed in and that is always a good thing. The overall tone complements the vocals very well. However, I do have a complaint here and it is with the drums. Most of the time the drums are great but there were more than a few times where they would do a repeated hit on a cymbal that, one, would cut too far through the mix and, two, often felt just slightly out of time with the rest of the music. I don’t know if it is a problem with drumming itself or in port production but there were a few times I found myself asking what the hell they were doing with that cymbal. The rest though was good.
All in all, I rather enjoyed this album and I do believe it is worth your time. I don’t think it is life-changing but it is a great one to add to a playlist. This is the kind of music I like when sitting around a bonfire in the backyard with friends drinking beers and having a good time. In that setting, this album would stand out nicely among your playlist and set a great tone. Pick it up I don’t think you will regret it.
- ‘The Other Side’ is released on 16 July. You can get your copy HERE.
www.facebook.com/MattLongAndTheRevenantOnes
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.