Having reviewed "Baptized' when it was released two years ago. I was already familiar with the change in direction the band undertook since parting ways with Alex and having Brandon step out from behind the drums to focus on singing. Their songs are more radio-friendly than the band I dug who released "The Curse". I would not call them a hardcore band. This album has been slowly released as a series of eps, and two songs into this album am not sure I would them a metal as they give me little reason to think of them that way until "Capitol F" which carries more of a crunch that almost sounds like nu-metal. I like this song much better than the first two.
"GOD - DEVIL" has more of an industrial throb to it. The vocals try a little too hard to belt the chorus out in an anthemic matter. It works off a pretty simple formula that still has some life left in it. The band is firmly locked into an anthemic songwriting formula that finds a pop-punk sensibility prevail on the chorus while they vent their angst on the verses. The hooky chorus of "Gone" perhaps is the most effective of this more commercial swing for the fences.
"I Don't Want to Die" feels like a hair metal ballad. This is not surprising when you consider their breakthrough album has a Bon Jovi cover on it. However, the execution here does not bear enough grit to separate them from bands like Avenged Sevenfold. The songwriting is almost as solid as the arena-rocking hits penned by Desmond Child or Aldo Nova in the 80s. "Immortal" stays with the status quo for commercial hard rock, with the obligatory screamed breakdown that paints the band with a contrived sense of menace.
When they cross over into a more nu-metal feel, their best Poppa Roach impersonation is more interesting than pretending they are a hard-core band by any stretch of the imagination. Back when they had vampire girls on their album covers they were not fooling anyone into thinking they were a goth band but it was darker than what is happening here. The ballad "Forevermore" does not feel necessary, but they find who they are in 2023 with nu-metal rap in the verses of "Come Down" that blends pop punk in the choruses. The title track that closes the album makes more sense in its attempts to remind themselves of who they are as a band while contrasting it with a pop-punk chorus. I will give this album an 8 as it is well written for what it is and well produced, what it is just does not happen to be something I personally feel the need to listen to again.
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