An Album A Day... Busy Busy
But we still keep pushing through!
Another week, another round of records! It’s a bit of a lighter week for the series, but I was busy writing reviews for other things as well. One of those reviews was a collaborative review with Benjamin Jack here on the new A$AP Rocky album, which you can read here. The other two reviews I wrote were for another publication of sorts, and I’m not here to plug my other work so I’ll leave you in the dark on that. However, before us we have four albums and a lot of words about them. I went from the depression of early Zach Bryan to the beginnings of nu-metal this week, and I can’t wait for y’all to dive into my perfect and factual opinions. So, let’s dive into another week of ramblings presented by yours truly!
Entry 37 // Zach Bryan - DeAnn
Before exploding into the country megastar he is today, Zach Bryan had DeAnn. Just a man and his guitar sitting in an AirBnB with a couple mattresses on the walls to reduce the echo, pouring his heart out. It truly is a simple album, recorded in a mere 48 hours reflecting on the life of a man that has been broken, loved, torn apart, and put together, shared through stripped down acoustics and an emotional voice. From the nostalgic recounting of life in Oklahoma, disappointments, and hope in “Doing Fine,” to the heartbreak and desire to erase the failures of love in “Man Thats Never Known You,” to the beautiful message to his late mother that this album is dedicated to in “Sweet DeAnn,” Zach Bryan opens the door to his life for all to experience and relate to. Despite its simplistic nature, DeAnn is rich beyond measure. Beyond the metallic strums of the acoustic guitar and pain-ridden, faltering voice of Zach Bryan lies that deeply personal story. You won’t find those anthemic gems like “Revival” and “Oklahoma Smokeshow” that have come to define his career today, but you can’t find those barren and naked emotions that define DeAnn anywhere else in his discography. It’s a raw and somber listen, but it’s one of the most rewarding and beautiful releases that spurred the rise to stardom for Zach Bryan.
10/10Favorite Track: Sweet DeAnn
Least Favorite Track: N/A
Final Thoughts:While I talk a lot about metal in this series, Zach Bryan actually stands as one of my favorite artists of all time.
Entry 38 // Korn - Korn
Korn defined a new metal genre, aptly named nu-metal. Nu-metal is somewhat of a contentious genre. Some albums pushed the genre like Mudvayne’s L.D. 50 and Incubus’ S.C.I.E.N.C.E. put their own twist on the style in a unique way, while other artists soured the genre like Coal Chamber. Objectors will call it the bane of metal, while diehard fans will claim there are absolutely no flaws with the sound — it’s a mixed bag all around. However, one thing is certain: that album from 1994 pioneered a new style of metal, and it’s still something that hits hard over three decades later.
Nowadays it’s easy to misunderstand just how absurd Korn was. The band thrived off of their unique style of dual guitar work and odd leads, rubber-band-esque bass slaps, and hip-hop groove inspired drum chops, and it’s become such a staple of their sound even to this day that it feels normal now. At the time, it simply wasn’t that way. “Ball Tongue” and “Lies” utilize eerie, high-pitched guitar leads throughout the verses in a captivating way, turning the single note melodies into a complex layer of the two guitarists’ ability to play off each other. Popping slapped bass from Fieldy dominates tracks like “Need To,” becoming more of a percussive element that pushes the song along more than laying the basic melody line. The drum work fluctuates between rapid fire grooves like “Divine,” slower, progressive builds like “Shoots and Ladders,” or a mixture of the two in “Blind,” yet all chops are infused with an element of hip-hop and funk groove that enhance the fluidity of the tracks.
It’s easy to break down all of the elements and showcase why it defined a genre, but that doesn’t really mean anything in the end. Artists could create an entirely new sound today, but that doesn’t automatically make it “good” per se. What Korn does have is a raw passion that even the band hasn’t been able to recapture. It’s hard to fully capture the sound into words, but the best example lies within frontman Jonathan Davis. Throughout the record, his delivery sounds gritty and aggressive, as if attacking each word coming out of his mouth. Even when not shouting the lyrics, his voice feels full of subtle anger, as is the case with the restrained vocals scattered throughout the verses of “Fake.” All of this culminates into madness with his emotional breakdown as he recalls his broken childhood in “Daddy,” really showcasing the passion and rage within his delivery that never falters throughout Korn.
It’s not just Jonathan Davis though, the entire band matches that same passion. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for it, but the instrumentation screams raw energy. The riffs and distortion are like punches to the gut, the bass is like a slap (get it?) to the face, and the drums are a relentless barrage of intensity. Sure, nu-metal might be a contentious genre, but you can’t argue that this record defined a new era of metal music. It tried something different, and it exceeded all expectations. Even three decades later, Korn still stands as one of the most important albums in metal for what it did for the genre. Whether you like nu-metal or not, this record was a major step for modern metal.
8.5/10Favorite Track: Shoots and Ladders
Least Favorite Track: Helmet in the Bush
Final Thoughts: Although I view this as their most important album, Issues still remains my favorite album of theirs.
Entry 39 // Beartooth - Disgusting
Disgusting is an apt name for this debut. The hardcore-tinged metalcore songwriting is full of angst and emotion, and the tonality of the record is gritty. The riffs hit undeniably hard, the breakdowns are pure adrenaline, and the choruses have an upbeat, catchy punk tenacity that adds so much depth. From the anthemic, sing/scream-a-long cuts of “In Between” and “Keep Your American Dream” to the abrasive, chaotic gems of “I Have A Problem” and “Dead,” Disgusting is full of high-energy jams that never take a moment to breathe throughout its duration. Caleb Shomo, the solo man of Beartooth (at the time), showcases his compositional abilities, ditching the more zany tendencies of his former outfit, Attack Attack!, in favor of a personal and vulnerable approach in both the instrumentation and lyricism. While I’ve already touched on the raw stylings of the musicianship, the title itself shares the mental space of Shomo during the writing place: a disgusting, dark place. Tackling issues of child abuse as in “Beaten in Lips” and struggles with alcoholism in “Relapsing,” Shomo digs into sensitive topics with a fiery attitude and embraces the pain while offering hope and encouragement to keep fighting.
Unfortunately, it was only downhill from here for Beartooth. Aggressive was a rather steep drop off in quality, and while Disease managed to bring back the quality from a songwriting perspective, a lot of the rawness of this record was lost. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it meant that Shomo was finding a better place mentally for himself, leading to him making more encouraging and uplifting sounding music than the pain recounted within Disgusting. However, Beartooth lost its edge, leaving the debut as the moniker’s most exceptional work. Nonetheless, even 12 years later, this album retains its impact and aggression, still sounding like the freshest work from Beartooth, and it’s always a great one to return to.
7.5/10Favorite Track: I Have a Problem
Least Favorite Track: Me in My Own Head
Final Thoughts: To this day, “I Have a Problem” still has one of the hype-est breakdowns I’ve ever heard and it always gets me pumped up.
Entry 40 // Skillet - Comatose
Nowadays, Skillet just kind of sucks. They have a couple hidden gems here and there in their newest releases, but overall, it’s just not quality effort. Ever since Rise in 2013, Skillet has been on a massive decline, leaving their work in a wasteland of mediocrity that continued to plummet. It wasn’t always this way though. If we go all the way back to 1996 with their self-titled debut — actually wait no, that also isn’t great, sorry. We need to hit the sweet spot: 2001-2009, there we go! In this 2000s era, Skillet hit their stride with their Christian rock / alternative metal style that dominated youth groups around the world, especially in 2009 with the release of hits like “Monster” and “Hero.” However, the peak of their career culminated with this record, Comatose.
Word of advice: when diving into a Skillet album, don’t sit too long with the lyrics. That has always been the biggest weakness of the band, and it unfortunately plagues the entirety of Comatose as well, with lines like “I lie here lifeless in this cocoon / Shedding my skin ‘cause I’m ready to” and “You’re better than drugs / your love is like wine.” So, set those lyrics aside and enjoy the music, because it is honestly very entertaining. From the opening of “Rebirthing,” their blend of alternative metal instrumentation with orchestration (a staple of the mid-00s Christian rock era) is perfectly integrated, with a simple, punchy riff and strings to support the melody of the track. Other tracks like “Comatose” and “Whispers in the Dark,” the two biggest hits of the record, scratch that same aggressive itch, full of heavy riffs, straight-forward and driving drum chops, and catchy, soaring choruses to boot. On the other end, jams like “The Older I Get” and “Those Nights” dig into a more rock-ballad focus, emphasizing the earwormy choruses and positive, uplifting sounding compositions to give that anthemic, sing-a-long vibe.
Sure, Comatose is an infectious record and fun to spin, but it is far from flawless. Aside from the lyrical missteps mentioned above, the album suffers from rather mediocre songwriting decisions at times. “Better Than Drugs” fails to balance the soft verse / heavier chorus dynamic, leaving it feeling a disjointed track that doesn’t really go anywhere for the majority of its duration. The most confusing decision of all was the weird spoken-word approach of “Looking For Angels,” which has a great message that it attempts to communicate but in the most absurd way possible, and it just does not work at all. However, for every misstep, Comatose more than makes up for it, with some of their best tracks in their discography like “The Last Night,” “Falling Inside the Black,” and the two major hits pulling their weight. It is far from a perfect album, but it is the perfect embodiment of the golden era of this style of Christian rock, and it’s well worth the listen.
7/10Favorite Track: Falling Inside the Black
Least Favorite Track: Looking for Angels
Final Thoughts: My favorite Skillet album used to be Collide simply because it was heavier and riffed harder, but this one just has so many catchy moments that really play with my nostalgia.
I will try to make next week a bit fuller with content for you all. But until then, I hope y’all have enjoyed the series so far, and I’m looking forward to writing even more reviews as the year continues!