By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars
This year in the world of music has been one of my favorites, simply because many of my favorite bands have been releasing new material. Project 86 applies to the previous statement, as they are one of my top 10 favorite bands. I first discovered them with their album "Picket Fence Cartel". They blew me away with their interestingly written lyrics and their intensity which was hard hitting, but still accessible. Andrew Schwab is one of the best vocalists in the hard rock scene, and one of my favorites in general for how he is so versatile. P86 consistently make great music, although they did make a slightly weaker release three years ago in "Knives to the Future". This new album, "Sheep Among Wolves" has the band going back to their more intense roots, while also keeping the tightness of their new albums in tact. This release also has some experimentation, which helps to make this album excellent.
This album gets off to an excellent start with "MHS", which also serves as the album's lead single. This song is classic Project 86 in every way. Andrew unleashes with his screaming in a delightfully intense way, and the guitar riffs hit hard. It's practically impossible to not head bang to this song. I don't know how any P86 fan could hate this song (as far as I can see, all fans of the band love it), as for me it brought back memories of songs like "The Spy Hunter" or "Sincerely, Ichabod". This one is meant for the fans, and I definitely see this one being well received in a live setting. This song is certainly one of the highlights of the album. "Dead Man's Switch" also has a recognizable P86 sound to it, with Andrew's more hardcore styled vocals taking the helm. "Imaginary Me" does a good job at combining the elements of the band's old albums with their new releases. This is the first song on this album to use clean vocals, and of course Schwab sounds just as good singing as he does screaming. I love the redemptive nature of the lyrics as Andrew expresses how he wants to stop being this lesser version of himself: "So ready to kill the dragons I’ve been chasing/So willing to end the life that I’ve been bleeding/There’s nowhere left for me to run I draw this line or I become imaginary". This album as a whole has a powerful thematic arc of denying who you really are as a child of God due to a feeling of brokenness. This is where we get the first indications of that theme, and it continues to appear in other tracks.
"Freebooter" is one of the band's more accessible tracks, with an interesting alternative rock feel. I don't know if I've ever heard the band do something like this, and thankfully it works to the band's advantage. I love how even over two decades into their career, P86 still looks for ways that they can push the envelope and experiment with their sound. "By Constantine" is another track that I'm sure is going to be a fan favorite. It is definitely the most intense song musically on this album. Andrew's screams go to some incredible places, and the guitar work and drumming are both extremely impressive. The title track is lyrical gold, as it discusses how we as Christians like to shapeshift to fit the whims of the society we're a part of: "Reach into the past for a moment here with me/When fangs would emerge, when vision would blur/When we lived for the kill without hope for the cure From the beast". I love how this song uses animal imagery to symbolize the dangerous instincts that we have when we aren't in relationship with God. This song also serves as a parabolic warning to listeners to not always believe that every Christian you encounter is in real relationship with God. This album has an amazing closing, as the last two tracks are among my top favorites. "The Great Escape" is easily my favorite from the album. This song is thematically dark for the band- not that the band hasn't done dark content before, but this is one of their darkest. This song talks about escaping a dangerous religious cult, using violent lyrics to highlight how harmful it is to be a part of a cult who is not actually who they say they are. Musically, this song is a straight up rock jam, and it's easily one of the best songs of the year. This album ends off with "Metempsychosis", one of P86's softest, most beautiful and haunting tracks. This song discusses how we often try to change our physical appearance to hide the depths of our souls. The way the song does this lyrically is very powerful and emotional. The music only helps to add to that emotion. You just have to listen to the song to really get the full experience.
A few weak points in this album keep it from being entirely perfect. "Copper Wish" is a pretty bizarre track. It doesn't seem to know what kind of direction it wants to take musically, treading somewhere between ballad and hard rock. This stylistic choice just doesn't work. It left me scratching my head, wondering what the band was trying to accomplish. Also, the lyrics in this song are a bit too cryptic for me, and their disturbing nature doesn't really seem necessary as Schwab sings "We drown the water with the babes/To drown the grief we gain". There's a point where dark lyrics are necessary, but in this song they're very over the top. The purpose of those lyrics, if there is any, is lost in the confusing nature of this song. "Into Another" is a very short song, and it's generally forgettable. It's not a very interesting track in any way. It's clear the band is trying to just use their general sound for this song, but they didn't really do anything to interest me. This album as a whole is also sadly a little too short, only 35 minutes. I wish there had been a little bit more content.
Even with the weak points, Project 86's new release shines. One can easily tell by listening to this album that Andrew Schwab has been doing this for a very long time, and knows how to deliver quality content. Even with the rest of the band being a revolving door lineup, this band has not gone down in quality. If anything, they continue to keep my interest as they experiment with their sound with every album. Schwab only gets more powerful as a vocalist and a lyricist. Like every other album P86 releases, this one will go criminally underrated. So please, if you see this review, give this album a listen. This is one of the most lyrically deep hard rock/hardcore releases of the year, and it's sure to be one of my favorite albums of the year.
Favorite Songs: "The Great Escape", "MHS", "Metempsychosis", "By Constantine", "Sheep Among Wolves"
Least Favorite Songs: "Copper Wish", "Into Another"
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