Review Summary: Just another brilliant phase in He Is Legend's constant evolution.
Disclaimer: I'm a huge He Is Legend fan-boy.
That being said, this album is incredible. He Is Legend is an ever-evolving entity, and each new progression displays a new side of the band that has not been explored in full before. This is not
I Am Hollywood, and this is not
Suck Out The Poison - it's
It Hates You, and it's something very special.
There is barely any screaming on this album - which might be scary to some - but frontman, Schuylar Croom's voice, is no less powerful. The three-pronged attack of the first several tracks, Dicephalous, Party Time!, and Everyone I Know Has Fangs, are filled with infectious choruses and driving bass and drums, and it shows that He Is Legend is still capable of having a good time.
What surprised me most about
It Hates You is how heavy it is with barely any screaming and a lot of melody (see the opening of "That's Nasty" and "Mean Shadows"). Praise goes to lone guitarist, Adam Tanbouz. His guitar tone is very crunchy, and he uses Drop G (!!!) for most of the album. How the songs will translate live is an issue, because there are many studio overdubs, and he's just one man - it's clear that they need a second guitarist after McKenzie Bell's departure.
“Stranger Danger” is the centerpiece of album - it's an epic seven and a half minutes long, and boasts some really beautiful vocals from Croom. Croom explores melody and vocal range in a way he never has before, and the result are a set of VERY catchy songs. Many may initially balk at "catchy" being used in the same sentence as He Is Legend, but it works so well. When coupled with the interesting time changes in songs like “Mean Shadows”, and the emphasis on mood and ambiance in songs like “The Primarily Blues” and “Decisions, Decisions, Decisions” – it makes for a very addictive listen. This album isn't dirty and raw like
Suck Out The Poison, nor is it clean and screamy like
I Am Hollywood – it’s grungy and weird and beautiful, and it’s
It Hates You – and it totally rocks.
