Review Summary: Radio ready without being radio "friendly".
After two generic albums comparable to the likes of Seether, Three Days Grace, and even Nickelback, Crossfade returns with an album that is a true evolution in both sound and lyricism.
Just looking at the album cover, one could assume that We All Bleed is something very dark and heavy. However, while it is undeniably heavier and even dark, it is still essentially a rock record. But don't let that be a bad thing.
WAB starts off with the hard hitting and defiant "Dead Memories". It's only 2:50 long, but it doesn't actually feel like it needs to be any longer and benefits from that. Oddly enough, the single version of their song "Killing Me Inside" felt a bit short, or at the least anti-climactic. Luckily, on the album, it's longer than the single counterpart and feels fitting. The next track, "Prove You Wrong" is a song that I could easily see being released as a single, as it's the one that has a more basic structure and sing-along chorus, but at the same time experiments with synths to come off as more atmospheric.
And yes, like their former albums, there are still themes of pain, regret, and self-depreciation. This time, however, instead of sounding like "Yeah, whatever, I'm sad, you're sad, I suck, you suck", it sounds less like vocalist Ed Sloan is just saying that he feels a certain way and sounds more like he honestly feels the things he says he feeling.
Without having a track-by-track review, I'll just put that We All Bleed has variety, which is a good thing.
You've got rockers like "Killing Me Inside" and "Prove You Wrong", ballads like "Open Up Your Eyes" and "Dear Cocaine", and even epics like "Make Me a believer", "Lay Me Down", and "Suffocate" (Which is part Doom-Metal, part ballad).
Despite all that I've said, the album still is not without its flaws. While the lyrics are improved, they still feel like they could use more work and end up just repeating the same words multiple times. And while the songs themselves feel long enough as they are, the album as a whole feels a bit short. The album is also a grower. If you're hoping to be wowed on the first take, you will be sorely disappointed. My only other big concern is what a follow up would be like. While this is by no means a masterpiece, it is an improvement. But it also seems to be based on what lead singer, Ed Sloan was feeling at the moment, so who knows what the sound would be like on a follow up. What is clear though is this album shows that if the guys at Crossfade are willing to keep improving and experimenting, they can go far.
To make a tl;dr, unorganized, run on sentence filled story short, this album is great, but not for everyone. For those expecting something completely heavy and dark, this is not for you. For those expecting straightforward rock, this is not for you. But if you like atmospheric hard rock with a mixture of hard and soft, light and heavy, this is for you.
