Review Summary: Boldly going where every band has gone before....twice.
Blessthefall has accumulated massive underground success despite their spotty history with copycat musicianship and the gaining and losing of members throughout the past two albums. So much has happened with this band in such a short timespan and while some bands flourish on changes in lineups and progression in music (See: Underoath), Blessthefall seems to be stuck in reverse as they release a predictable album full of, well, filler.
Remember those movie previews that show certain spectacular parts of the film and when you finally see the film, you realize all of the good parts were put in to the two minute trailer you’d seen a month back? This album is exactly like that. Blessthefall released the tracks “Bottomfeeder” and “Promised Ones” in the months leading up to the release of the album. When you start the album the intro and these two tracks are the fist three tracks you hear and by the time you’re finished with track four you begin to wonder where all that energy went. The album recycles all of the old ideas and music from the first two efforts with no sort of variance or upgrade in ideas or writing. The certainly are sticking closely to the formula that’s worked for them in the past, only now it feels as though they have lost all inspiration as they go through the motions of crafting together leftover ideas from Witness. Yes, they were never very original to begin with, but at least when they were ripping off other bands in the past it was enjoyable to listen to. Now they just tread water and rake in the money from their fans.
The album begins with an intro that is massive and dramatic, singing the chorus to “Promised Ones” and being accompanied by beating drums. Already you get the feeling that they ran out of ideas because this track in so close to the “2.0” from Witness. The track segues in to the song and single “Promised Ones.” The track is epic and immediate with a catchy chorus and nicely placed breakdowns. “Bottomfeeder” takes us to no new places either but still features some great sing-alongs and another big guitar breakdown. When you get to “I’m Bad News in the Best Way” You’re all pumped up and ready to get started with what should have been a massive, dark album. But as you get to the 2-minute point of this track and notice the catchy chorus and big breakdown you start to wonder if you accidentally left the “repeat one” button clicked on your ITunes library. “40 Days” slows things down a tad bit, which is to say that it has a catchy chorus and no real breakdown. The track features Beau’s improved vocal work and, thankfully gets rid of Jared’s weak screaming. I sincerely wish there were more bright spots on the album to point out but it is literally the same thing over and over.
One is prepared to forgive a band for possibly reusing ideas from other bands but Blessthfall already did that on Witness. So what you get here are the salvaged scraps of already uninspired ideas. The songs are comprised of the same “finger style” guitar accompanied by chugging breakdowns that bands such as Asking Alexandria and The Devil Wears Prada would be jealous of. The bass is almost nonexistent as it is there only to support the drum work. Don’t get me wrong, they play these parts well and have a pretty good degree of technical skill; but so do the 92807498721084 people playing their own electric guitar covers of their favorite bands on YouTube. As you trudge your way through the album you wonder why these skilled musicians couldn’t create something of that reflected their talent and sigh for what could have been.
All in all, if you’re curious about the album, go download the “Awakening,” “Promised Ones,” and “Bottomofeeder” and put them on repeat for 45 minutes. I actually looked forward to this release as I have (guiltily) enjoyed their past two albums. But now, Blessthefall seems to be stuck in the rut that is the music business, where everything unoriginal and catchy sells and artists with creativity get martyred.
