Review Summary: "All we need is our punk rock..." and maybe a consistent line-up
Islander is an alternative metal band with great potential simply hindered by their constant revolving door of members. Their follow up to the promising debut
Violence and Destruction sounds more like a fresh start than a continuation.
Power Under Control takes a different approach to the band's sound, taking a step back from the mainly "punk rock" sound of their previous album, focusing more on introducing a more alternative metal influence with punk, nu-metal, and rock sprinkled here and there. Although the album manages to remain consistent with each individual song, the album as a whole feels kind of all over the place.
Instrumentally, the album is quite fantastic. Whether you're listening to the hard-hitting
Darkness, the alternative-esque
Better Day, or even the slowly progressive
Beelzebub, Islander manages to engage the listener in an amazing display of musicianship. JR Bareis displays his diversity in songwriting, mixing different elements of guitar work in each song.
Casket and
Devil Red exhibit his fast-paced, heavy riffing, while songs like
Better Day show his ability to write melodic riffs. Drummer Arin Ilejay shows off his speed and rhythm throughout the entirety of the album, creating driving beats that keep songs moving along. The viciously fast verses of
Think It Over mixed with the semi-punk beats and fills of
Bad Guy contribute to an overall excellent display of drumming throughout. Ezekiel Vasquez is often left enhancing the verses, taking over as JR Bareis works away at subtle note-picking riffs.
Darkness and
Better Day display Zeke's ability to create grooves that compliment both the drums and the guitar, enhancing the songs in intriguing ways. Although the instruments play a major role in the songs, you can't neglect the importance of the vocals in
Power Under Control.
Mikey Carvajal's mixture of vocal styles makes for an interesting display of singing. The harsh chorus, rapped verse combination of
Darkness intertwined with the clean, melodic vocals of
Wait for It display Carvajal's vocal abilities in multiple ways throughout the album. When listening to
Power Under Control, you'll hear melodies, screams, raps, and even squeaks (
Bad Guy if you want to know what I mean), making for a rapidly changing tone of voice.
Despite the fact that the album is all over the place, musically speaking, with the dark sounding
Darkness followed by the upbeat
Bad Guy (along with other random song placements throughout the album),
Power Under Control actually holds a loose lyrical concept hidden underneath the songs. Following a man deep in a dark place (one might even call him a bad guy) wishing to find a better day, the album tells the story of his progress to a better place in life. Although the constantly changing tones of the album make it hard to take the reality of it being a "concept album" seriously, there is definitely an underlying story behind the music, albeit pulled off in a weak manner.
Even though the "sporadic" song placement hinders the album quite a bit,
Power Under Control still remains a fairly consistent album. Although "Islander 2.0" has since been replaced with version 3.0, Islander still shows a lot of potential in being an amazing band in the future. Hopefully Mikey can find that "right" lineup that will take them to the next level and that those members will stay in the band, but until then, we may have to deal with constant "restarts" in their style.
