Review Summary: A bland album that got more hate then it should
The biggest tragedy on Rise since That's Outrageous, Woe, Is Me started off as one of the most successful bands in the "risecore" epidemic that was slowly polluting the world. A fallout happened when a few members chose Fame > Demise(pun intended) and left because of the arrogance within the band(well was). The remaining members Hance Alligood, Kevin Hanson, Andrew Paiano and Austin Thornton added Doriano Magliano and Brian Medley to the roster and created what is the new W,IM.
Starting off with what the album could be described as, take Asking Alexandria and water down the riffs from Periphery and you can probably find some mixture that would sound identical to what Genesi[s] turned out to be. The guitar leads are nearly invisible, with the production making the drums and chugs fill the album and disgrace what was once a very talented and diverse band. F.Y.I sums up the album pretty well, very straightforward in your face lyrics about following your heart and not giving a care about what other people have to say. The lyrics in the album are what caused the biggest outrage in most opinion, everyone seems to believe the album is about Tyler Carter, Michael Bohn and the Ferris brothers departing from the band, yet most of the lyrics seem to be about being able to restart after everything that happened. Lyrics like "We never gave up, we never gave in, we never gave up on you so don't give up on me" or "Gone through hell and back to prove myself and put your words to shame" while something heavily seen in the metalcore genre, they sound nothing like hate filled lyrics to me. While the lyrics could have a double meaning considering the fact both "I've Told You Once(which was the worst song to release as the opening single) and King of Amarillo were released at the same time, the album seems to be more about the people who were saying they had nothing left to give.
The vocals are what brought people such as myself into the album, Bohn's screams weren't very bad, but they didn't stand strong on their own, and former keyboardist/backing vocalist Ben Ferris was constantly giving the band a heavier vocal style and keeping a good contrast to what Bohn had been putting out. Doriano however, can growl pretty brutally, while not perfect he has energy with his voice and the in your face lyrics benefit from his heavy style. Clean vocalist Hance is the highlight of the band, while not sounding as he did in Vengeance, he is very talented, and he has a few star moments within the album. The ending chorus in "A Story To Tell" and the whole acoustic track "Family First" were powerful and maybe to some people could have been inspiring.
Guitar wise, this album isn't to exciting, the standard chug-chug formula used in nearly every metalcore act is present here, and without loud guitar riffs or exciting ones, the band lost a lot of momentum, however the breakdowns while in abundance are crisp and keep the heaviness of the album. The tuning seems quite awkward, as it doesn't blend to well with Hance or the latter half of the album, however with a former Rhythm guitarist and current Rhythm Guitarist in the same band, you can't really expect something flawless and awe-inspiring. The bass is somewhat noticeable, and it blends with the guitar nearly perfectly, so a few points can be given there.
The drums are complete mediocrity, with no change in rhythm or style in any of the tracks, following the same kick kick hit pattern, Genesi[s] loses what brought Number[s] much success, the out of time drum fills that gave flavor to the rest of the instruments. Generic instruments and generic lyrics really hampered the album, and with the amount of time Hance was in the band(September 2011-November 2012), along with Kevin being responsible for most of the writing, something similar to the debut could have been released, as Hance does have the most talent in the band.
Fundamentally, this album was not worth the hype, but it also wasn't worth the degrading it received. The band was pushed to release something, and with a mixture of former band members just beginning to work together, something perfect could not have been accomplished no matter what they tried. "A Story To Tell, "The Walking Dead", "Nothing Left To Lose" and "Family First" stood out from most of the album, and gave it worth some money, they should have released an EP with these tracks instead of a full length to get some feedback before making an entirely new album could have saved them from losing a large portion of the fan base.
