Review Summary: A huge let down, but a decent album in itself.
Since the release of their debut EP, Empire, in 2009, the Arizona-based band The Word Alive have attracted a quite a few dedicated fans (myself included). Being a fan of the metalcore genre, I was instantly hooked the first time I heard them.
Their music had a pretty basic metalcore song structure, but they set themselves apart from heaps of other bands by putting some technical guitar parts into the mix along with some great clean vocals and solid screams. While the release was flawed with a fair amount of filler songs and uninteresting lyrics, it still offered some fresh air in what is often called a "dying scene", and I was curious as to what the band would produce the next time they went into the studio to record.
In August 2010, The Word Alive released their debut LP, Deceiver. This release was a step up from Empire, as it diabolically fast drumming and made more common use of complicated guitar riffs. The Word Alive had also written much more interesting lyrics this time around, and far less filler material. Sure, the album had its flaws (a boring song or two) and was thus by no means perfect, but I was very satisfied with it. When Deceiver had begun losing its appeal, I began waiting impatiently for The Word Alive's next effort, hoping - and expecting - that it would be at least as good as their last one.
And here we are, nearly 2 years later. It's the summer of 2012 and Life Cycles, The Word Alive's second LP album, is out in stores. Now, I shall investigate whether this release is the piece of art that has been awaited for almost 2 years now, or if it is yet another "sophomore slump".
When I with great expectations listened to this album for the first time, I began with the song which had the most interesting song title, "Dragon Spell" (which is, incidentally, the first track on the album). To my surprise and disappointment however, the song itself was not nearly as interesting as its title. While the song did showcase the progress Tyler Smith has made as a vocalist, the guitarists barely did anything but chug on this track, as opposed to showing off by playing the technical riffs which were so prevalent in earlier releases. It also included a lot of synth melodies that didn't work all that well, which was a surprise.
"Whatever", I thought to myself. "They've made bland songs before, the rest of the album will surely be amazing." Oh boy, was I wrong.
Unknowing of what horror awaited me, I pressed on. The next song on the track list, "Wishmaster", was somewhat more to my liking, (having less synth and slightly more impressive guitar work in its favor) but still very unsatisfying coming from a band with such potential. I still didn't lose hope, however, and kept the album spinning.
But around the time I had finished listening to the fifth track on the album, I did begin losing hope. Up until that point, I had heard about 20 minutes of little less than one-dimensional guitar play and over-used synth melodies, and it didn't look as if the remaining songs would be any different.
Sadly, this is mostly what the rest of the album contains. At times I began speculating that maybe guitarists Tony Pizzuti and Zach Hansen had lost all but the top 2 strings on their guitars and couldn't be bothered to replace them. While there are some exceptions, (Room 126, Evolution, Life Cycles) most of the songs off Life Cycles are bland in the instrument department. Don't get me wrong - the instrumentation is by no means horrible. It's just very average, and merely a shadow of what this band could have produced.
However, Life Cycles truly succeeds in one area - vocals. Smith, as I mentioned earlier, has stepped up in regards of vocal performance. His screamed vocals, which didn't stand out all that much on neither Empire nor Deceiver, have improved considerably. Not only do Smith's screams reach higher pitches than before, producing some sweet highs, but they also sound very raw and less edited this time around, which makes them enjoyable to listen to.
As for his clean vocals, these have also improved a bit. Though The Word Alive's lead vocalist has always been good in this department, (reaching high pitches and expressing emotion effectively) his singing voice seems to have matured. His singing is less whiny, more sincere and shows a little more variety than before.
Overall, Smith's vocal performance is very enjoyable on this album.
All in all, The Word Alive's sophomore release is quite a big step back from their previous works, as the instrumental aspect of it is - for the most part - painfully average. The vocals do however make an otherwise average album into a fairly good one.
(Alright, review's done. Feedback, especially regarding my grammar, is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!)
How do I edit the review though?
