Review Summary: Badass metal fusion hardcore rap jazz band makes an accessible album
I was watching Music Choice Rock one day and I saw that Candiria would be releasing a new record soon and that the lead single was called
Down. I was pretty bored so I decided to go ahead and listen to the song. What caught my attention first off was Carley's singing. In the past he was a rough rider, still is, but now his voice has become smooth, catchy, and fits really well within the construct that is What Doesn't Kill You.... It was pretty clear that Candiria had embraced aspects of nu-metal, but with a hint of alternative rock.
As said before, Carley's singing has changed massively for the better. He shows a lot more control over the songs with his voice, and is able to convey multiple types of emotion throughout the album. You won't get fast rapping and guttural death vocals, but
Blood is an extremely angry, anti-war song where Carley yells bitterly the whole time.
9mm Solution is actually a strictly rap song that uses keyboard strings and the two guest spots are nice along with Carley's feature rap. The last song on the album,
The Rutherford Experiment, is literally a masterpiece. It is basically a five-minute jam that incorporates multiple instruments, and each one manages to standout by itself at different times.
One of the weakest parts of What Doesn't Kill You... is the guitar parts. The riffs are interesting on most songs, but sometimes feels like the riffs are old and thrown in to finish the album. There is a solo in the single,
Down, but better singles could have been chosen. Doesn't really matter though.
Remove Yourself is the anthem on this album and it is anthemic as fuck! If you don't check this out, but want a smooth epic few minutes listen to this.
In the booklet the band tells the meaning of each song in a brief sentence and my favorite is on
I Am. "Isn't it fascinating how we can be so judgmental when a person does wrong by us, but in time we do the same to someone else. Oh how we love to contradict ourselves."
I Am is just one of the songs that shows how the band started thinking about life after the near death car crash they had in their touring van when a trucker hit them (the band ended up winning in a lawsuit over it). It may be hard to believe, but just the lyrics and vocals make this fun to listen to. The instruments themselves are great and compliment Carley well. That said, What Doesn't Kill You... is still a good album and gets a high recommendation out of me.
Pros:
+Carley's vocals
+The insightful and meaningful lyrics
Cons:
-Hard to swallow for some
Standout Tracks:
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Remove Yourself
-
Down
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The Rutherford Experiment
