I have high expectations for KSE. This album isn't dreadful like their last album, but it's also nowhere near as musically amazing as their earlier albums. I consider their best albums to be The End of Heartache, As Daylight Dies, and Alive Or Just Breathing (moreso for the music than the singing) in that order, and this album doesn't measure up to any of those three.
If The End OfI have high expectations for KSE. This album isn't dreadful like their last album, but it's also nowhere near as musically amazing as their earlier albums. I consider their best albums to be The End of Heartache, As Daylight Dies, and Alive Or Just Breathing (moreso for the music than the singing) in that order, and this album doesn't measure up to any of those three.
If The End Of Heartache is a perfect 10 then one can't possibly rate this album too highly. Where the better 3 albums are packed with creativity and freshness this new album sounds more like they've run out of good ideas and are kind of reusing previous ideas or are going thru the motions. End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies are the kinds of albums that blow you away. This album is not.
I guess you could call it the KSE style but some parts of these new songs sound so much like parts from previous better songs that it's hard to say it's a style vs repetition.
Can we all at least agree that the word "redemption" has been overused enough now?
The album isn't bad, it just lacks the magic of their better albums. It lacks the devastatingly heavy and catchy riffs. The song structures are too generic. The riffs are repetitive, derivative, lacking punch. The guitar solos are generic (it's not like I expect amazing solos from KSE, or any solos at all, and it would seem Adam has been on a Van Halen listening binge I don't think the solos fit KSE at all). The background growls are less diverse and creative (pretty much all cookie monster sound). The songs are too formulaic. The songs aren't as musically interesting or fresh. Too much of the "iron maiden" gallop style they overdid to death on the previous album (I know Adam is a fan of maiden, so am I, but enough with the tribute).
There are no songs on this album that I'd imagine would be sing alongs live the kind of song where the whole audience is singing. In Due Time is a catchy and ok song but it's almost too poppy sounding. Fast isn't necessarily heavy.
I prefer Jones vocals but I don't dislike Leach. Leach has a fine clean voice. His growls are kind of lacking and sound too much like yelling for the sake of yelling it lacks the musicality of other growlers including Howard. I like Howard's clean and growl voices better. It was pretty devastating when Howard left the band since vocals are something harder to replicate and replace than any other piece of a band.
What I mean is, on Heartache and Daylight the vocal styles used fit the music perfectly. On this new album the yelling/growling/whatever you wanna call it sounds forced and doesn't blend as well. This is kind of why AOJB is my least favorite of their better albums, Leach growling/yelling doesn't blend as well.
Regardless. The vocals are the least of my concerns. As a music lover and guitar player I'm more critical of the guitar playing, riffs, and overall songs, and overall, it's impossible to rate this album as high as I'd rate their earlier work because it's just not as impactful… Collapse