Crossfade has been sort of a guilty pleasure of mine for about 7 years now. I fell in love as soon as I heard cold. For those of you that do not know the band, crossfade is comprised of Ed Sloan (vocals/guitars) and Mitch James (bass). These are really the only two band member worth mentioning because Crossfade has been though roughly five drummers and has switched a couple backup guitarists as well. They are known for a mix between southern rock and post-grunge. The highlight of the band is most certainly Ed Sloan who certainly knows his way around a 7 string guitar and has a great voice to accompany his playing.
After a lengthy hiatus, Crossfade has returned with their third album,
We all bleed. Nobody really knew what to expect from their third album after Columbia records dropped them. What was rumored was that the band had been experimenting with a darker sound.
Right from the get-go, we see the band has most certainly changed.
Dead memories is the opening track. It starts with a fast paced rhythm done by Les Hall on guitars. As Ed Sloan comes in his voice is muffled by microphone effects. His voice clears during the chorus as he screams “I’m not holding on, to dead memories.” First impressions tend to influence album ratings, and sadly Crossfade has not made much of an impression with their opener.
The second track, also the first single, is
killing me inside. This track too is pretty forgettable as it follows the overused, overplayed, and quite plainly unoriginal song progression of a heavy chorus and slower bridge and breakdown. The third track however, is a much needed sign of hope.
Prove You Wrong opens with a computer enhanced guitar as Sloan softly sings, “Some days are worse than others, some days I cannot feel a thing, someday I might just prove you wrong, something might just go my way…” As he finished setting the mood, classic grunge guitar work blazes in along with the chorus. As soon as it begins, the chorus is over and distortion goes away. After the second chorus, the bridge displays some interesting guitar effects that the song probably could have done without. However, the guitar solo is a nice touch to the song, and completes
Prove You Wrong as the first good song on We All Bleed.
Lay me Down puts the most effort I’ve ever heard into a filler track. While Sloan does show some good lyrics here and Hall tries to lay down some impressive guitar licks, the song is still nothing more than a decent filler song.
Dear Cocaine displays the true talent of the band. The song is about overcoming addiction and trying to let go of the past.
Dear Cocaine consists mostly of an acoustic set (with slide) and a piano, although it does progressively get heavier.
So far I have gone basically track by track. However, the next 4 songs are just plain awful. This brings us to the 10 minute closer. While
Make Me a Believer is not a great song, it does show some talent from the band. It has several different levels and takes you through a large range of musical styles. Overall the album is not at all impressive. There are some glimmers of greatness, but they are well overshadowed by the bland and over-edited sound that makes up 90% of the album. Perhaps the songs would be much better in a simple acoustic form in which the songs are not ruined by guitar and vocal effects, but for what it is, this album is a flop.
