Review Summary: It just may change your mind.
On
His Last Walk, Blessthefall proved themselves to be a young band in desperate need of improvement, and in danger of growing very stale very fast. Apparently, they realized this, because former clean vocalist Craig Mabbit left to join Escape The Fate, leaving a band with no lead vocalist. Beau Bokan then took the helm of vocalist, and there was a slight promise of change, and maybe even improvement, with
Witness.
Bokan is a much stronger singer than Mabbit, and carries a fuller and more unique delivery, though he still mainly resides in the higher range. Speaking of vocals, unclean vocalist/bassist Jared Warth is much stronger this time around, and utilizes everything from piercing shrieks to harrowing growls, something he barely accomplished on
Walk. While lead guitarist Eric Lambert still shows off his ability to craft fun leads, it’s former rhythm guitarist Mike Frisby that truly shows progression. On HLW, Frisby resided mainly on the lower three strings, happily chugging along. This time around, he actually crafts some worthy riffs that don’t just set the pace. Drums and bass are still mediocre, so don’t expect much from that department. In addition, the electronic element that was overly present on the band’s first effort makes rare appearances on
Witness, sounding much more tasteful then beaten into the listener’s ears. Make no mistake,
Witness is a heavier, darker affair than its predecessor, and it’s good for it.
Despite the God-awful title (pun coming), “God Wears Gucci” is highly enjoyable, and both Bokan and Jared show off their vocal chops. However, it’s the guitarists that truly carry this track, weaving in and out of one another effortlessly. Intro “2.0” is rousing and intense, and bridges well into the predominantly screamed and surprisingly heavy “What’s Left Of Me”. Fans of classic BTF will love the guitar lead in “To Hell And Back”, as it would fit extremely well on the band’s freshman album. Despite the lengthy intro (and over-use of breakdowns), the title track has some pleasing growls and guitar leads, as well as an uplifting chorus, while “You Deserve Nothing And I Hope You Get Less” has some fun interplay between the drums and guitar.
It is nice that Beau is a much stronger vocalist then Craig, and his departure was definitely for the better. In addition, improvement from the rest of the band allowed them to grow out of their shells and fully grab the potential that was barely glimpsed on His Last Walk. The heavier edge is an added treat as well. However, there’s still a slight bit of filler, as well as songs that sound exactly like eachother (“Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted” and “Five Ninety”). Finally, the lyrics still could use some improvement.
Lyrically, the explicit references to God are cut down majorly, and it’s much less apparent that the majority of the group holds the Christian faith. Songs like “2.0” and “To Hell And Back” inspire revolution, much like the rest of the album, whereas something like “Hey Baby” fires back in the face of a verbally abusive ex. Witness is easily a much stronger album than
His Last Walk, and maybe the whole thing is worth a purchase. If you weren’t a huge fan of the band’s previous effort, check out
Witness, it just may change your mind.
