Review Summary: We will not relent now.
World We View was a fairly good venture into alternative metal with a slight pop twist, but it ultimately failed at reaching the heights of heavyweights such as RED or Demon Hunter. Parts felt uninspired and bland, like the band was trying a little too hard at their brand of “pop-metal”. Vocalist Jeremy Dunn promised fans that
From Water To War would have the metal edge of WWV, but would feature much more of the programming elements seen on tracks like “The Intervention”. And they made good on their promise, that’s for sure, but did it work?
First off, there are plenty of songs here that easily could’ve made their way onto the previous outing, but this isn’t a bad thing. Openers “Never Back Down” and “World We View” blaze with tighter guitars, stronger vocals, and a more seamless integration of the subtle electronics used on the previous record. “Lights We Burn” is a less generic and more energetic, matured version of “Adrenaline” from WWV and will be sure to get you up on your feet and chanting along. “In The Dark” calls back the fury of “Our Darkest Day” with slinking Drop A guitar riffs, dark-but-not-too-dark lyrics, and one of Jeremy Dunn’s only screams. The frenetic riffing on “Light It Up” saves the track from becoming boring late-album filler and actually shows some technical proficiency on the axers’ parts.
Interestingly enough, the group cited Katy Perry as an influence for the album, shown prominently in “Where We Belong”. Guitars are replaced by synths, there’s a pulsating drum machine, and Dunn croons more than snarls. It is generic and doesn’t have a wealth of power, but at the same time, it’s a very enjoyable track and a pop song done fairly well overall. “You Are The Light” comes off as a blend of MTM-era LP (think “What I’ve Done”) and Imagine Dragons, but oddly enough, it does work quite well. The passionate chorus will have you crying along and yelling triumphantly, guaranteeing that you will at least feel something.
Sadly, there are times the new pop element does not work well at all, and like WWV, NL can’t write a ballad to save their life. It just sounds like radio-ready garbage, not really allowing you to feel anything (everything off Skillet’s
Awake effort). Lyrically, the band has mainly improved. The clever wordplay on “The Intervention” from the group’s debut is thankfully evident again on tracks like “Lights We Burn”, whereas “Never Back Down” and “In The Dark” are encouraging and intense. However, all of the ballads are mediocre in this department as well.
There’s definite improvement here, but FWW is still held back by almost the exact same elements as its predecessor. Nevertheless, the improvement is strong improvement and is worth investing in, at least if you dig the genre or the band's past effort.
