Review Summary: Another nearly flawless record from Project 86, …And The Rest Will Follow is an intense hard rock record with brains, and better than 90% of the mainstream rock you’ll find today.
When you ask the average P86 fan what their best album is, you’ll most likely hear the response “
Drawing Black Lines, for sure.” However, I beg to differ.
…And The Rest Will Follow, in my opinion, is the best Project 86 record. It mixes
DBL’s raw energy with
TH’s melodies and harmonies while taking the ferocity from
Songs To Burn Your Bridges By even further to make an incredibly engaging twelve tracks. (On a similar note, GGGarth, who produced
DBL also takes the helm of this record.)
The first track,
Sincerely, Ichabod is the perfect lead-off for the album. It’s basically a message that the band is only looking forward, and the first line brilliantly addresses this: “We once drew some lines in black, and right now it’s about time we took them back.” One of Project 86’s most ferocious songs, and one of their best, without a doubt. The chorus is simply mindblowing; not unlike that of Rage’s “Calm like a Bomb”, it passes right through the part of your brain that thinks about what you’re listening to and blindsides your adrenaline gland.
All Of Me, the second track, is a slower, more melodic song, with fairly tame verses, powerful, harmony-filled choruses, and an amazing bridge, with Andrew shouting over Randy’s simplistic-yet-sweet guitar solo. [b] “Doomsday Stomp” is a slow, heavy song, and is my least favourite song on the album, but that’s not really saying much. It’s an all right song, but not as memorable as the other songs. It does have some interesting lyrics, “the lips of eyeless woman / asks me for needle and thread / to sew her head / together again."
Something We Can’t Be, the fourth track, and one of my favourites, is an interesting departure for Project 86. It’s softer, yet more gripping than most of the other tracks. Andrew Schwab’s vocals are perfect here, almost hypnotizing. There are none of his trademark yells until later on in the song, when heavier riffing kicks in. The fifth song on the fifth album,
Subject To Change is somewhat schizophrenic, with quiet, creepy verses lapsing into fast, almost punk rock choruses, with Andrew chanting “Return, return return.” This song is probably the most
Drawing Black Lines- influenced cut on the record.
Necktie Remedy is a more emotional song, with a cool bassline accompanying Schwab’s tense whispering in the verses and anguished wails in the chorus. This track has one of my favourite bridges on the album, with some echoing effects as Andrew chants, eventually lapsing into a pure, throaty scream, then into a soft, spoken segment.
My Will Be A Dead Man, almost has an old-western feel, especially when Andrew shouts/sings about gunpowder parties and firefights and sixshots and whatnot. Driven by a heavy, unashamedly drop-D riff and Alex Albert’s thundering drums. Some more nice harmonies in the chorus by Randy Torres, who provides a nice (if short) solo just before the end.
From Decemberis a particularly interesting track, talking about a lost loved one. This is not a new topic in mainstream music, but for Project 86, it’s new territory, since they usually go for the deeper topics. Andrew Schwab writes some amazing lyrics for P86’s songs, so you’d think that something so simple would be a little mundane, but it works beautifully. The verses are elegantly sung, until the chorus breaks in, with tortured yells accompanied by Randy and Steve’s harmonies.
The Hand, The Furnace, The Straight Face is a fast, punk flavoured track, with lightning riffs leading in and out of piano melodies and Schwab’s shrieks and shouts. The song is slightly repetitious, but it’s still a great song, in the same vein as “The Spy Hunter” from
Bridges. The beat-driven title track seems like a filler track, at just over 2 minutes, but it's pleasant enough to listen to.
Now onto one of my favourite tracks,
Cavity King. Possibly the best result from the
Drawing Black Lines /
Truthless Heroes formula, mixing great energy and pacing with amazing harmonies and melodies. It starts with some sickly-sounding chords, then the drums kick in and Andrew starts to yell. Then, at 0:45, the chorus assaults your senses, delivering a barrage of blistering guitar, amazing harmonies, and Andrew Schwab delivering his best screams on his whole performance on the album, maybe his whole career. It’s a fantastic thrill ride of a song, and could sit comfortably on
Drawing Black Lines,
Truthless Heroes, or
Songs To Burn Your Bridges By.
The last track on
…And The Rest Will Follow,
Wordsmith Legacy, is an strange beast. For about 20 seconds at the beginning, there’s some low base accompanied by some strange sound effects. Then Andrew starts to chant “Knock, knock, knock sound the blows to the forehead…” which really sets the weird atmosphere for the song. The rest of the track is filled with effects-laden bass and guitar, and some tribal-like drumming. The album leads out with Schwab chanting “Spoken…and spoken…and spoken…and spoken…”, making an interesting finish to an incredible album.
So, here we are, 48 minutes and 12 tracks later. One thing that is especially noteworthy about the album is Andrew’s lyrics; cryptic, haunting, very poetic, and brutally honest. If you’re a longtime Project 86 fan, I doubt you’ll be disappointed, and if you’ve never heard them before, I encourage you to give this album a listen.
Recommended Songs:
Sincerely, Ichabod
All Of Me
Something We Can’t Be
Cavity King
