Between Here & Lost
Alternative Metal / Hard Rock
release date: January 22
1. The Abandoning
2. Whip It
3. Watching The Bottom Fall
4. By The Way
5. Meltdown
6. My Disaster
7. I W8 4 U (feat. Mattie Montgomery)
8. Fading Away
9. Paralyzed
10. Chemicals
11. Bruises
It is inevitable that when you think of Love And Death, you picture a dread-headed Brian "Head" Welch, formerly of Korn. In case you have wondered for years where all the energy went in Korn, look no further. This album is filled with answers to where their sound has disappeared to. If you have ever seen Love And Death perform you will certainly understand all the emotion left with Welch. My mind is still flooded with memories of seeing Brian on stage sprawled out on the floor crying his lyrics, screaming to God. That same passionate energy has spread throughout the young band that he has built around him (JR Bareis - Lead Guitar, Michael Valentine - Bass, Dan Johnson - Drums).
This is Brian's second full length since Korn, and the band's first as a whole together. I was a huge fan of Brian's solo album, "Save Me From Myself". For me, it built a respect for him as a solo artist. But this album made it clear to me that he is no longer the name of his music, but a part of a band... a good one. "Between Here & Lost" has an overall tight sound. It has some of the same tendencies as "Save Me From Myself"; the heavy riffs, the mix of Brian using his grungy singing voice and clean vocals, and bellowing yells. All of those were evident right off the bat with the opening track, "The Abandoning", which is the perfect song to set the pace for this record. Next up is "Whip It"...and yes, "Whip It" as in the Devo song. Personally, this song is actually one of the stand outs on the album. They managed to do a total transformation of this song, to where it sounds nothing like the original. In most cases when a band does this, it is a total failure and leaves you with a horrible feeling. But for L&D it did wonders. They managed to make an 80's pop song into a good experimental hard rock song. The whole album flows together perfectly, and not one song really feels out of place. One thing is for sure, JR has picked up everything he could learn from Brian's guitar style, replicated it, and took it on as his own, and really is the stand out performance on the album. In "Meltdown" you find the band experimenting with a softer interlude backing Brian's whispers, with background vocals (screams) reminiscent of 30 Seconds to Mars. There is even a guest vocal performance for all the metalcore heads out there, specifically of the Christian scene. For Today's Mattie Montgomery is featured in "I W8 4 U", and fits in smoothly. Mattie's vocals are powerful, and he brings that sheer power to this song, making it the clear front runner to be everyone's favorite track on the album. Brian's writing style is a clear reflection of his life and all his struggles he has overcome; making themes of this album such as addictions, depression, and loneliness, among other struggles that go hand-in-hand, evident in songs such as "Paralyzed" and "Chemicals". The album ends out in an emotional rollercoaster with "Bruises", which is the most appropriate place for this song.
It's honestly a shame that whatever Brian does he will never lose that Korn tag. He was clearly the glue to that band with his signature sound, but he has moved on in his life with a band that brings light to the world through his experiences. If there was any shortcoming with this album, it's the fact that the only thing I could remember of this album first listen through was the vocals and guitar work. The other instruments were unintentionally overlooked. Also there are a few weaker tracks on the album (i.e. "Watching the Bottom Fall", "By The Way", and "Fading Away"), but with any release you're going to have songs that stand out more than others, and the other tracks certainly make up for it and give the album plenty of sustaining life.
Love And Death is full of talent and still relatively young, but with the cohesiveness of this album it is really hard to tell. This is definitely a good album, that is for sure. It left me wanting a few more songs, but until their next release, "Between Here & Lost" will serve all my alternative metal needs just fine.
This is Brian's second full length since Korn, and the band's first as a whole together. I was a huge fan of Brian's solo album, "Save Me From Myself". For me, it built a respect for him as a solo artist. But this album made it clear to me that he is no longer the name of his music, but a part of a band... a good one. "Between Here & Lost" has an overall tight sound. It has some of the same tendencies as "Save Me From Myself"; the heavy riffs, the mix of Brian using his grungy singing voice and clean vocals, and bellowing yells. All of those were evident right off the bat with the opening track, "The Abandoning", which is the perfect song to set the pace for this record. Next up is "Whip It"...and yes, "Whip It" as in the Devo song. Personally, this song is actually one of the stand outs on the album. They managed to do a total transformation of this song, to where it sounds nothing like the original. In most cases when a band does this, it is a total failure and leaves you with a horrible feeling. But for L&D it did wonders. They managed to make an 80's pop song into a good experimental hard rock song. The whole album flows together perfectly, and not one song really feels out of place. One thing is for sure, JR has picked up everything he could learn from Brian's guitar style, replicated it, and took it on as his own, and really is the stand out performance on the album. In "Meltdown" you find the band experimenting with a softer interlude backing Brian's whispers, with background vocals (screams) reminiscent of 30 Seconds to Mars. There is even a guest vocal performance for all the metalcore heads out there, specifically of the Christian scene. For Today's Mattie Montgomery is featured in "I W8 4 U", and fits in smoothly. Mattie's vocals are powerful, and he brings that sheer power to this song, making it the clear front runner to be everyone's favorite track on the album. Brian's writing style is a clear reflection of his life and all his struggles he has overcome; making themes of this album such as addictions, depression, and loneliness, among other struggles that go hand-in-hand, evident in songs such as "Paralyzed" and "Chemicals". The album ends out in an emotional rollercoaster with "Bruises", which is the most appropriate place for this song.
It's honestly a shame that whatever Brian does he will never lose that Korn tag. He was clearly the glue to that band with his signature sound, but he has moved on in his life with a band that brings light to the world through his experiences. If there was any shortcoming with this album, it's the fact that the only thing I could remember of this album first listen through was the vocals and guitar work. The other instruments were unintentionally overlooked. Also there are a few weaker tracks on the album (i.e. "Watching the Bottom Fall", "By The Way", and "Fading Away"), but with any release you're going to have songs that stand out more than others, and the other tracks certainly make up for it and give the album plenty of sustaining life.
Love And Death is full of talent and still relatively young, but with the cohesiveness of this album it is really hard to tell. This is definitely a good album, that is for sure. It left me wanting a few more songs, but until their next release, "Between Here & Lost" will serve all my alternative metal needs just fine.
4/5
Awesome review! When you mentioned seeing him on stage sprawled out on the floor crying to God, was that at Cornerstone? Cause I was right there in the front when it happened! :) -Ronn
ReplyDeleteNo. It was in jacksonville fl on a small tour with decyfer down, the wedding, and the letter black! :D
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