Review Summary: We waited far too long for this, but at least it's worth the wait.
As a whole, I try hard not to bestow a 1.5 or a 1 upon an album. In general, not even five percent of my ratings consist of the low rating mentioned above. The point is, it’s rare. Disciple’s
Southern Hospitality is one of the only albums to raise my ire that much. Disciple was never an 80s/southern butt rock band and they were never meant to be one, but it seemed that they needed the disaster of this heavier 3 Doors Down project to prove this to them. What frustrated me that most was that both the self-titled record and
Scars Remain had loads of potential, both admittedly inconsistent but also boasting some enjoyable alternative metal. Something else that convinces me that Disciple realized they were getting stale around 2009 was this: every original member left the group except for vocalist Kevin Young. It would be interesting to see how
Horseshoes and Handgrenades would turn out, hopefully at least not as boring as the self-titled or as horrendous the last record.
Kevin sounds nearly identical to how he did on
Southern Hospitality, though it is nice not having that slightly forced southern drawl that would pop up on that album. Put simply, Kevin just sounds grittier and ultimately more natural from the beginning of the record to the end. This album finds the departure of original axeman Brad Noah as well, and it is honestly the best thing that could’ve happened to the band. You won’t find any more showy solos and leads that don’t need to be there, replaced by a streamlined (yet fitting and enjoyable) riff-centered approach for rhythm guitarist Micah Shannan and the occasional (yet tasteful) solo, simmering octave line, or single note string from Andrew Welch. Drums and bass aren’t overwhelmingly present, though they do show up more than on SH and are at least to the quality of
Scars Remain.
“Dear X, You Don’t Own Me” starts the album much differently for the group. Whereas a track like SR’s “Regime Change” hit very hard and very fast right from the get-go, this a mid-tempo rock track that packs both a soaring chorus and an orchestral arrangement a la RED. The guitarwork and the strings interlock quite well, and Kevin has an undeniable amount of passion packed into his voice. Afterwards, “Watch It Burn” racks the energy up to eleven in a more typical Disciple fashion. Guitarwork shifts from power chord riffing, to swayed, swaggering picking, and even involves a nice solo. Kevin shifts from his raspy cries to more of a pleading croon and even displays a scream or two. “The Ballad of St. Augustine” is a similar track that is sure to satisfy any fan. Collision” and “Remedy” are two mid-tempo rock tracks that are similar to “Dear X” and easily surpass the majority of the slower songs from the band’s past work, resting right in the top ranks along with “Be The Quiet” and “After The World”. The guitarwork in both is excellent, but Kevin again sounds natural, not like he’s trying to ape Chad Kroeger. The lyrics are less cheesy and flow better as well. “Shot Heard Round The World” and “Battle Lines” find the band at probably their heaviest yet. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of melody, but Kevin rips his vocal chords out (similar to the screams in RED’s “Feed The Machine”) and there’s even some lower death growls, along with heavier, semi-technical guitar work and thrashing drums. At one point, I thought Kevin had metamorphosed into Demon Hunter’s Ryan Clark. A lot of this album benefitted from RED’s influence, and “Deafening” does especially. However, while that influence is there, this is still a very good song and is able to hold its own, sounding similar stylistically to the rest of the record. “Worth The Pain” also borrows heavily from RED while still having its own Disciple feel and remaining a dynamic and highly emotional heavy rock track. The group has always been very open about their support for the US military, and this song has the epic feel of a war anthem while still being personally relatable.
The filler factor has been trimmed way down on this record, leaving only two less desirable songs. The band has moved away from constant guitar solos and leave a slight bit more space for the other instrumentalists in the group. However, there are still some issues here that Disciple needs to work on. Firstly, there is still filler. Eight tracks into the record I was fully immersed, but then it was broken by the mediocre duo. I understand wanting a longer track-list, but sometimes it’s best to keep things a little short. RED did it with the fantastic
Innocence and Instinct in ten tracks. Breaking Benjamin’s magnum opus
Phobia (excluding the intro and outro, and the acoustic version of “Diary Of Jane”) manages to be entirely captivating in eleven songs (yeah the album has some problems but it’s at least a 4.). Lyrically, it is an entire universe better than
Southern Hospitality and even parts of
Scars Remain, though there is still something to be desired. Disciple are openly believers, calling themselves “Christians in a rock band”. You wanna sing about your faith? Fine, by all means do it. But try and avoid cliched phrases like “God’s in the rain”. Disciple have yet to fully master the art of graceful ambiguity, though they get close in tracks like “Watch It Burn”, “Remedy”, and “Invisible”. Also, the “battle lyrics” can tend to get a little old. Perhaps combining some of the more poetic moments of SR with the more intense moments of this record would’ve worked more efficiently. This is just a nitpick, but the album artwork is just so boring, nowhere near as engaging as
Scars Remain.
This record is the worthy follow-up to the 2006 release, showing maturity I wasn’t sure the band was fully capable of. The album isn’t perfect and isn’t quite up to par with some of its contemporaries, but if any album were to change a hater’s mind about Disciple, it would be this one.
