By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars
If there's one band where you should go into every one of their releases expecting the unexpected, it would be The Word Alive. This band burst on to the scene with their incredible debut "Deceiver", which was intense enough to please the strictest of metalcore fans while being accessible enough to draw in a wide audience. Even though this is one of the few bands where their debut album still remains to be my favorite by them, I really like most of this band's later discography as well. They've never been the type of band to stay in one genre, and I think that's because of lead singer Telle Smith's respect for a wide variety of music types. They have kept their sound consistently interesting. I think they did particularly excellent with their emotionally charged electronic/rock effort, "Dark Matter", two years ago. That album is certainly one of their best, and it would be hard for them to follow up on. Even the band considers it some of the best material they've done. Thankfully, "Violent Noise" is a worthy follow-up, pushing the band in a more hard rock driven direction, while not losing the raw/emotional core that made their last album work so well. This album has a fitting title, as it feels like a combination of sounds from all their previous albums, and the intensity is amped up across the board.
This album gets off to a near-perfect start with its beginning five tracks. Lead single "Red Clouds" is still one of my favorites on the album, as it reminds me so much of something that would come off of "Deceiver". I love the menacing electronic/piano atmosphere the song starts off with before exploding with a killer guitar riff. Telle's vocals sound somehow even better here (and on this album as a whole) than on "Dark Matter". There are not many vocalists within the metalcore scene that are consistently improving, but he is one of them. I love his clean vocals in this track, but what really blew me aware here where his screams. He goes to some incredible heights with his screams on this track, really proving the fans who say he's gone too soft wrong. This song proves that The Word Alive can still nail the metalcore genre whenever they want to. But, this song does not exactly represent the album as a whole, which is good. If it did, then the band would be playing it too safe. "Why Am I Like This?" is a powerful rock track where Telle is being brutally honest about how there are things he pursues that he shouldn't, and he doesn't know why. This song feels like it embodies the main theme of the album: because we are human, we often give in to our darker tendencies without really being able to explain why. The usage of electronics in this song are effective, and the chorus of the song will no doubt get ingrained in your head. "Stare at the Sun" was one of my most anticipated songs off the album when I saw that it would feature Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria. This song does not disappoint, and even surpassed my expectations. This song kicks down the doors with some brutal guitar riffs that will have your head banging, and Telle sounds so good against those riffs. Danny's feature made me smile, as he's actually showing off his unclean vocals. His screams here are probably the most intense he's done since "Reckless and Relentless", so this will undoubtedly make fans of AA's first two albums very happy. The ending of the song has a wonderful payoff with Telle and Danny combining their vocal talents together, proving that they are most certainly a match made in heaven. Hearing them sing together is a pure delight, making this song one of the most prominent highlights of the whole album.
"I F****d Up" may not have the most original of lyrical concepts, as it somewhat repeats a lot of the same themes that "Why Am I Like This?" had. But, this song more than makes up for it with its atmosphere, as it interestingly alternates between some of the most intense and softest moments that appear on this album as a whole. Telle's ability to quickly shift between singing and screaming here is awesome to hear. The breakdown of this track is sure to bring about the largest of mosh pits in a live setting, as once again Telle shows listeners just how capable he still is as an unclean vocalist. My favorite track off this release comes in "War Evermore". It was only after I listened to it that I discovered it was dedicated to the recently passed Chester Bennington, which makes this song even more powerful, as it is clearly written for those who are going through depression or having suicidal thoughts. Musically and lyrically, this track is very raw in emotion. Its usage of electronics actually adds to the emotion in my opinion, as the band uses them tastefully. Telle's voice sounds unfiltered in the chorus, as he hits these chilling high notes. I love the encouraging lyrics of this song, begging those who are suffering with suicidal thoughts to just hold on: "Sometimes the world feels like an empty place/Sometimes it’s hard to face your demons day to day/Staring face to face in a mirror of shame/I know because we’re all the same". It can be tough to talk about suicide. But TWA do a great job at tearing down the stigmas surrounding suicide (that it's the cowards way out, the misconception that there's no mental illness involved) while still saying that the people with these thoughts need to not take this drastic step. Calling suicide a war the band gives it the full weight it needs, and makes for a song that is powerful by saying that suicide is a war that can be won. This song is important, and will most likely be my favorite song of the year.
The second half of this album is a bit weaker in comparison to the first half, but it has several songs that really stand out which keep it from being too weak. "Real Life" is an unbelievably catchy song in which Telle expresses the human desire to search for something real in life rather than just a temporary high. I like how you can feel his desperation to find this in the chorus, while also making the chorus sound irresistibly catchy. This track has some obvious pop influences in it with its emphasized usage of electronics as well as Telle stuttering his vocals, but I think both of those elements actually work to the band's advantage. "Lost in the Dark" has understated but very talented vocal turn from Telle, as well as some guitar and drum work that is so good. The band's chemistry is tight in this song in almost every aspect. They create a truly great rock song here. I also think this track may be the most well-written on the album: "We live in a world that longs for peace/Desperate to set our passion free/But we're falling apart, we're lost in the dark". The emotional core of this track is something that I think will at first go underappreciated, but I can see this song eventually being a fan favorite because of how well it works on every front. But the real fan favorite right now seems to be "My Enemy", and I can totally see why. This track is the most intense song TWA have done in a long time. It has Telle absolutely going off in the vocal department, letting loose some excellent screams. The breakdown in this song is a treat, and the chorus, which does have clean vocals, doesn't let up on this song's intensity. The album ends off with one of my absolute favorite songs, "Lonely". We really get to see the extent of Telle's range here, as his voice sounds raw and passionate. This song is not necessarily the most conventional of closers, but it will leave you speechless, as Telle gives off some haunting metaphors for crippling loneliness: "You’ll never be whole, buried your soul...". I can't think of a better way to end off this release.
There are just a couple of negatives about this album. The most prominent negative, for me, is "I Don't Mind". This is a track that a lot of fans seem to be gravitating towards, and I don't really understand why. I can appreciate it for taking risks in it trying to have a pop/punk flair to it. But it ultimately just sounds awkward. Telle also purposefully tries to make his voice sound nasally, and it comes across as really annoying. The verses are what ruin the song. The chorus is decent, but nothing about it truly stands out. "Human" also doesn't work for me, although I think this track could've been better if it had been done a little differently. This track uses heavy electronics, which makes it sound a little overproduced in comparison to some of the more raw production used on the rest of this album. It also features a rapper, Sincerely Collins. Now, in his verse I could tell this guy is talented and has a good flow. Unfortunately, his verse was a lyrical cringe fest and really took me out of this song's theme of flawed humanity. Lyrics like "My crew the highest/Why you got your head low?/You should keep it higher/I am true unbiased" made it hard for me to take this song all that seriously. "Run Away" is not necessarily a bad track, but it didn't stand out as much in comparison to the songs surrounding it. Also, its production was weak, and it felt like the instrumentation drowned out Telle's vocals too much.
Overall, "Violent Noise" impressed me. It can be hard to follow up an album as great as "Dark Matter", but The Word Alive succeeded for the most part. This album boasts some of their best and most interesting work to date. It's a major plus that Telle sounds vocally like he's at an all time best, and he's made an album that has some of his best writing to date as well. Even with some of the bigger weaknesses on the album ("I Don't Mind" might be my least favorite TWA song ever), I still find this album to be an excellent listen. Definitely check it out, as I think it offers so much interesting variety!
Favorite Songs: "War Evermore", "Lonely", "Stare at the Sun", "Red Clouds", "Lost in the Dark"
Least Favorite Songs: "I Don't Mind", "Human"
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