Review Summary: Sleepless stands firm as Adept's magnum opus.
With four releases under their belt, and Adept already seeming to be one of the more overlooked acts in the current metalcore scene, surely their latest effort would likely be yet another by-the-numbers release with the most obvious twists and turns that you’ve come to expect. However, such is not the case, as Sleepless stands on its own as their most emotionally adept and masterfully written release yet. The four are seen in their element, exposing to the listener a barrage of poignant and sentimental anthems that only grow deeper with every listen. There is not a shred of banality to be found, sans maybe the first minute or so of “Rewind the Tape.”
The lyric writing exudes a profound sense of vulnerability from its onset to its conclusion, revealing emotions all the way from anger and resentment to sorrow and despair. Nothing is held back, which plays to this album’s advantage. Spoken-word introductions like in “Black Veins,” “Rewind the Tape,” and the eponymous “Sleepless,” which has three completely spoken verses before it picks up energy, add to the grandiose dynamic of the record, making it more akin to acts like La Dispute and Being As An Ocean while not moving 100% in that direction. Lines such as “So I keep fighting the hands of time because time here is of the essence / I remember a time so pure and I want it back / Because I miss the feeling of being secure” hold this record together masterfully. If you are struggling with a maelstrom of depressive emotions, this record will have your back and never let go.
Musically, it could use some work on a technical level - the breakdowns still follow the standard basic open-string-rhythms that most metalcore breakdowns follow, for example - however the atmosphere the writing creates complements the emotive delivery and writing in the lyrics brilliantly. Who said hardcore needed to be technical, anyway? Adept’s forte lies within its poignant songwriting, not its “le ebic shredz brah.” Regardless, it’s not like there aren’t any notable moments - the two or so minute buildup of the album’s conclusion remains one of the most moving musical pieces that I have heard in recent memory. The instruments on Sleepless are used as a way to amplify the dynamic shifts of the album and add to the emotional weight the lyrics carry, working to its advantage as it transforms vocalist Robert Ljung’s poetic writing approach into a maelstrom of emotion.
Highlights:
Black Veins
Wounds
Down and Out
Sleepless
