Review Summary: The album does have it's moments, but it shows that the band bit off a little more than they can chew.
I haven’t been a fan of these guys for too long. At first, when I listened to their debut album, particularly their song “Cold”, I really enjoyed it. However, now that I’ve listened to this album for about a year now, is it really the album that I thought it was back when I first listened to it? Well, to be honest, no it isn’t. There are a few good songs on here, but they’re just good. Not great, or groundbreaking for that matter, just good. And, that’s what the basic input of this album is, except the “good” part.
The album starts off with “Starless” which is also the longest track on the album. The song starts off with a quick pace to it, and the vocals aren’t bad either, but the one problem to this song in particular is the bridge, both musically and vocally. “Starless” is one of the heavier tracks, but at the bridge it suddenly changes from a heavy, faster pace to a slow, softer sound; and it does sound really awkward. It’s not really a problem, but more of a complaint, as is in why they created such a lackluster ending for this song. Secondly, Ed Sloan at the bridge sounds like he’s trying to rap instead of sing, and you can’t really understand what he’s saying. “Starless” isn’t a bad song, but the second half is weird. “Cold” is probably the most notable song in the whole album because of the fact that it was on the radio for a decent amount of time, and to be honest, it is a good song, but again, it’s not “great.” It does have good vocals as well as a strong chorus, but it’s such a clichéd song for that matter. Not to mention, the guitar solo is a real joke, probably one of the worst solos I’ve ever heard. It’s just repeating vocal melody, and I’m pretty sure that I can do the solo on the guitar. It is one of the better songs, but if this song really is the best in the album, with it being a clichéd track and having a terrible guitar solo, you can tell that this album isn’t really worth it. Another mentionable song is “Colors.” It’s one of those slower, heavier tracks and it isn’t bad. Even though it is a bit repetitive, the lyrics aren’t bad and I guess the vocals are tolerable. “No Giving Up” is another one of the better songs. It’s got a strong chorus, as well as good vocals and it is one of the songs that the band does get right musically. The song is clichéd, but it’s one of those better clichéd tracks.
But what’s wrong with this album? Well, quite a few things actually. First and foremost, most of the songwriting is terrible. An example is “Death Trend Setta.” Now by the title of this song, you know that you won’t get it. It’s just a bunch of random riffs thrown in together along with lyrics that don’t make any sense. And secondly, what the heck is a “Death Trend Setta” anyway. I don’t know, do you? The lyrics are just so terrible and cheesy. You can barely understand what Ed Sloan is singing about, heck I get so lost in this song that I just end up skipping it. It’s just a random song that I don’t think that anyone will understand in the first place, and it’s the worst song in the album. The song “Disco” does have a catchy tune to it, but the lyrics make it sound like a Nickelback song. Heck, I’m sure Chad Kroeger would LOVE to cover this song if he had the option. And I will admit, I thought the line “You’re wasted now and your pants have been soiled but you disco.” was kind of funny to me. And of course there’s the last song of the album, “The Unknown.” It’s the bands attempt at being softer and more emotional and let me tell you, this track fails to do so. It’s so repetitive, with the whole song repeating twice and the guitar and piano parts repeating, it’s not a great song, heck it’s not even good.
Well, here’s the final question. Is this a bad album? Well, in my opinion, no, it’s not bad. Some of the songs are good, such as “Cold” and “No Giving Up,” and there are some strong parts to those songs as well. Not to mention, there are a couple of catchy tunes in this album. But Crossfade does miss quite a bit with bad songwriting and a loud and obnoxious sound to the tracks. To me, I think that band took a few steps more than they should have and just went right for the throat in the music industry. If they slowed it down a few paces and worked on improving their style a little bit, than I think they could’ve done better than they did now. It’s not bad, but to be fair, it’s not going to have nu-metal fans screaming for Crossfade. But to me, it’s a mixed bag.
Recommended songs:
Cold
Colors
No Giving Up
