Review Summary: Another typical Christian rock band makes a rather enjoyable album. Nothing else really.
Nine Lashes. What a weird name. No really, it’s weird. Sure there are weirder names out there but seriously, who came up with that title. Is it symbolic or something? Why is it the name of a Christian band? I don’t know, and I may never know. All I know is that even though Nine Lashes is unoriginal, they actually have potential. Not saying that they’re going to be the next Skillet or something but if they end up actually trying to have more depth in their music and expand more on their sound, then they might actually end up becoming a pretty damn good band to say the least. Granted, their international debut,
World We View isn’t the best thing ever made, but you know what, it’s actually pretty solid for the most part.
It’s actually pretty rare for a rather unoriginal band such as Nine Lashes to actually leave a lasting impression, but for some reason, they actually manage to make their music rather memorable and quite catchy. The overall guitar work, while not really groundbreaking, is certainly impressive. The drums are effective and keep up the beat well, and the bass for the most part is audible. The vocals are rather excellent for the most part and are smoothly placed in. There’s none of that typical short riffs or elongated sounds to make the song seem either catchy or emotional. Even if Nine Lashes is a mainstream band, they don’t really beg for attention by having a lot of their songs end up on the radio and waste a crap-ton amount of money just trying to get noticed. I’m not saying they don’t want to be noticed, but it’s not like Nickelback where they literally shove every single one of their songs right down your throat. And that’s probably why they’re music is actually good. They don’t rely on being catchy or being emotional, they just want to play the music that they want to put out there in the world.
The songs for the most part are pretty solid.
Anthem of the Lonely is probably the best that is on the album and is followed by
The Intervention. Both of these songs are propelled by great guitar work, excellent vocals, and decent lyrics. It’s actually pretty surprising that
The Intervention didn’t end up being a single on this album. It’s certainly a much stronger track than
Get Back. Granted
Get Back isn’t a bad song, but it does end up getting repetitive after a while. The album’s main ballad
Afterglow is a rather beautiful piece that, while lacks creativity, ends up being another excellent highlight of the album with its great vocals and soothing emotional depth.
Adrenaline and
Our Darkest Day contains guest vocals from Trevor McNevan from Thousand Foot Krutch/FM Static and Ryan Clark from Demon Hunter. They add a nice touch to the songs and end up making them more enjoyable to listen to.
However, for some reason, after
Adrenaline, the songs become less and less memorable as it goes on.
Believe Your Eyes,
Write it Down and
The Void are essentially filler tracks. They don’t stand out as much as most of the other songs and are only there just to make up time.
Write it Down and
The Void are less than two minutes and fail to gain your attention throughout the whole time. They’re filled with typical riffs that you’re used to hear in the typical mainstream band and
Believe Your Eyes contains rather cheesy lyrics. As for the last track
My Friend, it’s just another one of those acoustic tracks that is repetitive and lacks emotional depth. As for the sound, it is great, but again, it’s unoriginal. Nine Lashes is an unoriginal band that is influence mostly by unoriginal artists such as Red, Three Days Grace, and 12 Stones. They just don’t seem to expand enough on their sound and they never really advance out of their comfort zone enough to make their songs groundbreaking.
For an international debut,
World We View for the most part is actually pretty solid. It’s got some great tracks and impressive instrumentation and it’s just enough to at least get attention for those who wanting to find something fresh out of the rock/nu-metal genre, and if that’s you, then give it a listen, especially if your into Christian Rock specifically. It’s just that, again, they need to at least move to something more out of their comfort zone to really have an impact.
Recommended Songs:
Anthem of the Lonely
The Intervention
Afterglow
Adrenaline
