On March 23rd, blessthefall unleashed their Rise Records debut entitled “Hard Feelings”. Fans will expect a different sound incorporated in here which will guarantee a satisfied fanbase that they have toiled over in maintaining plus acquiring new fans with their sonic production, emotional songs, and hard hitting choruses and rhythms.
Sometimes a change of scenery is what is needed in life, sometimes we need to pack up our belongings and start over in life, where we can feel fresh and anew. blessthefall has encapsulated their career with all the changes in terms of record deals, changing singers, and just an overall sweeping change of the music industry and packed their feelings into this hard hitting album. With the scenario I painted you, this immediately makes the music relatable to your life.
The paradox of this album starts off with the track “Wishful Sinking”. Madness To Creation certainly appreciates the wordplay to the phrase “wishful thinking” as we have all felt like we want to wishfully sink instead of wishfully think. Beau Bokan, the vocalist, does a great job of encapsulating this feeling of how inadequate we can feel sometimes with the following chorus line:
You’re the shore I’m the tidal wave/I’m the reason you’re coming up for air/Holding on to a memory/You can blame it on wishful sinking/You can blame it on wishful sinking/I’d try to save you/But what we’re you thinking?
While the chorus brings us the conflict and the climax of the song, the intro builds a great anticipatory setting as the listener will begin to immediately notice the evolved direction that blessthefall took with ambiance serving as a nice backdrop in the song along with the twin guitar attacks of lead guitarist Eric Lambert and Elliott Gruenberg on rhythm guitar. Eric and Elliott both do an exceptional job of intertwining their guitars in the intro of “Wishful Sinking” to provide that sonic assault that blessthefall has trademarked.
“Find Yourself” continues to follow that theme of hanging onto what is already lost, as it’s a deep personal song about someone losing out in a relationship and trying to find the heart to forgive themselves for messing up in that relationship. The vocals in this song that Beau Bokan provide are more melodic which provides blessthefall with a hard alternative rock edge to it. In the chorus and the bridge of the song, Matt Traynor gets busy, and I mean busy with the cymbal crashes and the sonic assault on the drums. The keyboards that Beau provides in the brief instrumental break add another layer to the song with Jared Warth allowing for those seamless transitions with his bass work.
“Cutthroat” brings about that aggression in the band as the intro and the keyboards with the scream “f*** all of y’all, you can suck my f****** d***”, the rest of the song is meaningful at least as it talks about letting go of a relationship. I’m sure blessthefall added that intro purely for shock value and to let people know that they are not a Christian band, as they are one of those bands that people speculate on whether or not they are a Christian band. It’s a part that will get the kids screaming I’m sure.
“Welcome Home” is a powerful track with a tasty guitar solo by Eric Lambert that adds to the emotion of the song, in fact, it showcases almost a classic metal type of feel to it in the guitar solo. The song seems to take on spiritual connotations and wanting to keep the relationship going, it can take on so many interpretations the way the song was penned. It kind of brings about a close to the album that leaves the listener in a contemplative mood in a roundabout way.
Fans should embrace the evolution of the blessthefall sound. “Hard Feelings” showcases that this is one of their more heartfelt and personal records that they have ever written as the album seems to conceptualize that inner struggle that people face in the difficulty of relationships. blessthefall brings about the sonic assault and a tidal wave of emotions, and it’s a wave that the listener will be glad to ride. Madness To Creation gives this album a solid 8 out of 10 stars. Here is the track listing below.
- Wishful Sinking
- Find Yourself
- Melodramatic
- Feeling Low
- Cutthroat
- I’m Over Being Under(rated)
- Sleepless In Phoenix
- Keep Me Close
- Sakura Blues
- Welcome Home
blessthefall will be providing support for Asking Alexandria and Black Veil Brides on their upcoming tour. Check out the tour dates below!
Sunday, April 29th- Iron City in Birmingham, Alabama
Monday, April 30th- International in Knoxville, Tennessee
Wednesday, May 2nd- Toyota Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut
Thursday, May 3rd- Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey
Friday, May 4th- The National in Richmond, Virginia
Monday, May 7th- Gillioz Theater in Springfield, Missouri
Tuesday, May 8th- New Daisy Theater in Memphis, Tennessee
Wednesday, May 9th- Cotillion Ballroom in Wichita, Kansas
Saturday, May 12th- The District in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Monday, May 14th- Sokol Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska
Wednesday, May 16th- The Forge in Joliet, Illinois
Thursday, May 17th- Piere’s in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Friday, May 18th- London Music Hall in London, Canada
For tickets and further information on any of the shows featuring Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, and blessthefall, click here!
blessthefall will also be touring Europe this summer. Check out tour dates below!
Friday, June 8th- Download Festival in Derby, United Kingdom
Monday, June 11th- Naumann’s in Leipzig, Germany
Tuesday, June 12th- Musik & Frieden in Berlin, Germany
Wednesday, June 13th- Zaklete Rewiry in Wroclaw, Poland
Friday, June 15th- Randall Club in Bratislava, Slovakia
Saturday, June 16th- Bas Bett in Frankfurt, Germany
Sunday, June 17th- Forum Karlin in Prague, Czech Republic
Monday, June 18th- Budapest Park in Budapest, Hungary
Tuesday, June 19th- Zona Roveri in Bologna, Italy
Thursday, June 21st- Dynamo Werk 21 in Zurich, Switzerland
Friday, June 22nd- Stadmitte in Karlsruhe, Germany
Saturday, June 23rd- Gebaude 9 in Cologne, Germany
Sunday, June 24th- Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium
Tuesday, June 26th- Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany
Wednesday, June 27th- Musikcentrum in Hannover, Germany
Friday, June 29th- Jera On Air in Ysselsteyn, Netherlands
Saturday, June 30th- Vainstream Rockfest in Munster, Germany
For tickets and further information for any of the shows listed above, click here!
Fans can find blessthefall at the following locations:
www.instagram.com/blessthefall
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