Review Summary: Entertaining but nothing special.
I came across the music video for "Hunger" on YouTube one day and when I heard it, it wasn't exactly something that rang as of genuine quality. But just because something isn't something completely unlike anything I've heard before, doesn't mean it isn't good. And is this album good? Well, get comfortable and I'll tell you.
So this band's sound can be roughly described as a mix of power metal, electronica, metalcore and pop. It’s very standard verse, chorus, verse music, made up of straightforward rhythmic riffs, a lot of techno beats and keyboard sections, very energetic drumming, and the most notable aspect, the ensemble of three lead singers. Two guys and a chick, with Elize Ryd and Jake E Berg delivering the male and female cleans and Andy Solverstrom giving the harsh metalcore vocals to give the whole vocal pattern a bit of variety.
Okay, now I have to admit that I can't think of too many bands that combine these genres together, but any potential in that is wasted because the music manages to be so generic, so cookie cutter, and so uniform that its greatly forgettable. Nothing about the music is creative or all that interesting. Pretty much everything, from the riffs to lyrics, to melody to the vocals and everything in-between is so run of the mill that there isn't anything of real artistic value.
Like I said, the riffs are standard and the drumming, although energetic, is very basic and nothing special. The synth is also very uniform and is used as one would expect, and even the vocals, as varied as they are, are still played very safe. The clean male vocals are basic power metal vocals (with a hint of auto-tune I might add), the female vocals are basic pop vocals, and the harsh vocals are basic screamo/metalcore barks. All of the songs follow the same formula and do the same thing, and with everything so run of the mill and so formulaic, there isn't much here that's artistic or creative or anything that makes it noteworthy or memorable.
Now I know it sounds like I didn't like this record, but in actuality, despite its complete lack of imagination and creativity, the music is still pretty entertaining. It's energetic, it's catchy, and it's pretty easy to get into. Basically there isn't anything awful about the album and it's likable. Everything is performed well. The vocals all sound nice. It is a pretty visceral album and does a good job getting your blood going. So on a more surface level, this album isn't bad. Yes, I can turn my brain off at times and just let myself be entertained by "popcorn" music, but in general I like music that makes me think, which is the reason why this album ended up not doing much for me.
In short, this is an album that, while it isn't bad and is pretty entertaining, just doesn't have a lot of substance and when it’s over doesn't give me any reason to go and listen to it again.
