On February 21, metalcore band The Word Alive released their sixth studio album MONOMANIA via Fearless Records. The quartet consists of vocalist Telle Smith, guitarist Tom Pizzuti, guitarist Zach Hansen, and drummer Matt Horn. In regards to this newest creation, Smith says, “We wanted to do something different and push the boundaries of what we are capable of. We’re really taking risks.” The Word Alive accomplished this by producing an album that will go down as one of the top ones of 2020!
I was instantly hooked with the intro to the title track “MONOMANIA.” The struggles one may encounter with mental health is the primary theme of this album and vocalist Telle Smith delivers a powerful vocalization of this struggle right away when he sings, ‘Does anybody even care? Is anybody listening to me? I’m lying here invisible’. The phrase ‘Killing ourselves to cope’ is also repeated throughout this track. This an extremely powerful track befitting of both the title and opener. Please check out the official video for MONOMANIA below:
The first release off the album was “Burning Your World Down.” This track fits the theme of the album and was actually released back in October before plans of this album had been announced yet. This song demonstrates more of an awakening with the lyrics ‘I’m wide awake/I’m not afraid/I’m letting you know I won’t be the same’ yet the struggle is still there, only in this instance that struggle is with someone else. Please check out the official video for “Burning Your World Down” below:
Lastly, do yourselves a favor and listen to “Misery” which The Word Alive released as a stand-alone track a few years ago, then listen to “Numb Love (Misery II)” off this album. While the obvious idea is that the two songs compliment each other, The Word Alive pulls this off better than most other bands have and “Numb Love” in particular is one of my favorite songs off the album as it is a true demonstration of how talented the instrumental members of the band are.
Admittedly, I wasn’t too familiar with The Word Alive before listening to this album. They are a band I have wanted to explore and MONOMANIA has motivated me to do just that as I will now explore their earlier work. I give this album a very solid 8/10 and am looking forward to hearing more from them and hearing how their sound evolves in the coming years! Please check out more about the band below:
Track Listing:
- MONOMANIA
- No Way Out
- Searching For Glory
- Another Year in the Shadows
- Greatest Almost
- Thank You
- Numb Love (Misery II)
- K. F.
- Burning Your World Down
- Comfort and Chaos
- I’m Sorry You’re Sorry Now
- Death is Only the End if You Assume the Story is About You
Please check out more on The Word Alive on the following social media platforms:
https://www.wearethewordalive.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thewordalive/
https://www.instagram.com/thewordalive/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/TheWordAlive?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
