Review Summary: The Word is Alive!
Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, The Word Alive has shown their world their attempt at post-hardcore.
And do you know what? It is quite a good attempt.
Opening with ‘Battle Royale’, they show what they are all about
: strong vocals, keyboards that actually add to the experience, guitarists that can play their instruments quite well and a strong bottom end with the drums and bass.
Vocally, the band has never been stronger, with current vocalist Tyler ‘Telle’ Smith handling the majority of them, with great backup singing and screaming by guitarists Zack Hansen and Tony Pizzuti.
While Telle has had some previous vocal experience, clean vocalist for the In Fear And Faith and backup screamer in Greeley Estates, it is quite refreshing to finally hear him show his vocal prowess, with his display of his strong singing skills and vicious screaming being quite impressive throughout.
However, the vocals aren’t the focal point of the whole EP, such as the skills guitarist Zack and Tony show, while being adept in the breakdown department, with tracks such as ‘Inviting Eyes’ and ‘How to Build and Empire’ show that they can also bring impressive riffing and soloing to the table.
As well as this drummer Tony Aguilera is consistent throughout with his display throughout, showing that you can be heavy and inventive at the same time with bassist Nick Urlacher beefing up the sound. Keyboardist Dusty Riach rounds off the band’s lineup, while many band these days use keyboards to just have an excuse to have auto-tone and orchestral elements in their songs, Dusty actually has the skills let his instrument add to the songs, such as in the track ‘The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules’.
Sure they can play their instruments, but does that mean anything if they can function as a coherent unit? Of course not, but luckily for this band they function as quite a formidable unit indeed.
The opener ‘Battle Royale’ quickly starts the chaos, displaying all the elements of The Word Alive, while acting as a barometer for the EP, while ‘Quit While You’re Ahead’ takes what the previous track established and solidifies it, showing that the band has consistent talent.
The following two tracks ‘Casonova Rodeo’ and ‘Inviting Eyes’ are they two most catchy songs on the EP, with ‘Casonova Rodeo’ having a formidable vocal hook and shows the band firing on all cylinders to form the catchiest and most concise song on the record while the beginning on ‘Inviting Eyes’ brings the shred while Dusty makes the song his, showing how well a keyboard can be played in this genre.
Alternatively, ‘The Only Rule Is That There Is No Rules’ is easily the heaviest track on the record, with the track opening with a bang. Telle takes charge from the get-go, while Zack and Tony accelerate the song to a frenzied pace, even with the song being breakdown-filled. The chorus tones down the heaviness for a second before diving straight back into what the start of the song showed. I would personally consider the best song on this EP.
Finally we are just left with ‘How To Build An Empire’, with the band taking this chance to leave a lasting impression. Opening the keyboards and guitars intertwining before Telle starts singing with a lot of emotion (he’s basically yelling the lyrics out) and suddenly the penny drops, next thing you hear is screams of hatred, guitars shredding, double bass pounding and the moment that bass is heard at its most audible. After this moment of audio catharsis, the chorus dreamily drifts in, with the sung vocals at their most pleading, before leading into the longest melodic moment of the record. Telle’s singing is at the forefront with the guitarists showing how to shred without showing off and the drumming keeping at a steady pace. Then the biggest surprise is with the 80’s style guitar solo, while being not the fastest, is technically impressive, before the whole band jumps back into the melody show previously. But not to let us forget, The Word Alive has one last moment of heaviness, a breakdown full of vocal vitriol.
The Word Alive has released a beast of an EP: heavy, atmospheric, fast, concise and considering the success the band has found since its July 2009 release, the kids love it too.
