Review Summary: Crossfade reinvent their sound to excellent effect in this long-awaited release.
So, Crossfade is finally back, with a new album, a new label, a new member and a whole bunch of new ideas. The new album-We All Bleed-was certainly a surprise, but a good one at that. When they were dropped from Columbia Records, the band split up and basically disappeared. However, after some time Les Hall (guitarist, songwriter, pianist, and backing vocalist) convinced Ed Sloan (lead singer, guitarist and songwriter) to start writing again. Without the pressures and restraints of being signed to a record label Les Hall and Ed Sloan wrote what they wanted, when they wanted. Eventually, they signed to Eleven Seven Music, to whom they presented the music that they had been writing. It certainly shows that they wrote this album while not signed to a record label. Although this is still radio rock there are no really radio-ready songs here, with the possible exception of Killing Me Inside. Ed Sloan was going through a pretty dark time when he wrote the album as well, which is certainly reflected in both the lyrics and the musicianship.
The change in sound may loose them a few fans but in general the band has improved in almost every way. Musically, this album is certainly a cut above the rest of the genre, as displayed in many songs, notably the ten-minute closing track Make Me A Believer. The lyrics are emotional and, although they stumble every now and then they are generally excellent. Writing while not signed has allowed them to not have to worry about composing singles for the radio-something that helps them to break free of the bounds of the radio rock genre. This is certainly one of the most interesting and original releases in the "Mainstream" rock scene in recent years. One thing that should be remembered when putting this CD on is that it is not a feel-good album. It is dark, aggressive, heavy and emotional.
We All Bleed rips open with Dead Memories. It's a good opener, if a little misleading. It's the shortest, most fast-paced track on the album, and doesn't really indicate what the rest of the album will be like. That said it's still a solid, heavy track that is followed by the lead single, Killing Me Inside. This is definately the most radio-friendly track on the album and is also the least original, following the same overused song structure we've heard so many times. Even so, the musicianship is excellent and there are a few interesting ideas thrown in. The five-minute album version is a lot better than the shortened three-minute single version.
Let's be honest, we're all sick of radio-ready ballads. So many of them have been released and played to death on every radio station, despite the fact that they all seem to follow the same damn song structure and they all have reused, rehashed lyrics about relationships. This said, hand me an original ballad with a lyrical topic involving anything other than breakups and I'm a sucker for it. So perhaps it's no surprise that the fifth track on this album-Dear Cocaine-is one of the highlights for me. Lyrically, the song is about finally breaking free of a drug addiction. It sounds like Ed Sloan is talking to the drug as if it is a human ("Dear cocaine, quit calling me. The phone is off and I'm fast asleep."), an interesting touch. Musically the song does not let down either.
Prove You Wrong and Lay Me Down are both excellent tracks, like many on the album featuring a dark atmosphere and a sort of slow, aggressive heaviness. Again the intruments are top notch and the vocals are powerful-Ed Sloan can certainly portray his emotions well with his dragged-out, rough notes. Suffocate is a pretty "meh" track-it's not bad, it just doesn't stick out of the crowd and the chorus is too similar to the others to warrant any kind of special attention. That is a problem here- a lot of the choruses sound like the others to varying extents. We All Bleed is one of the best tracks on the second half of the album. The verses have this eerie, haunting feel that is pulled of masterfully using microphone effects and great musicianship. The chorus is one of the most unique compared to the other heavy tracks here.
I Think You Should Know and Open Up Your Eyes are both power ballads. They're good tracks but Dear Cocaine overshadows them both. I Think You Should Know is my favourite of the two, and probably the only track that is almost happy-sounding at parts. Open Up Your Eyes is followed by the final track-Make Me A Believer, which is truly a great song. The ten-minute epic displays the best instrumentation yet and is interesting throughout as it changes its sound several timest, giving an almost bipolar feel. The only problem here is that towards the end it does start to feel like it's dragging on unneccessarily.
All things considered this is a solid release and a breath of fresh air in what is often a boring genre. Crossfade's radio-friendliness has faded to a minimum and they haven't been afraid to try out new ideas in this record with excellent results. There may be a couple of skippable tracks but certainly at the very least Dear Cocaine, Make Me A Believer, Dead Memories and We All Bleed are worth checking out.
