By: James Southworth
Rating: 5/5 Stars
In 2017, I had one of my proudest musical discoveries: While She Sleeps. When I heard their album "You Are We" in full, my jaw dropped to the floor as I listened to what I still consider to be a highly original and innovative metalcore album. It honors the conventions of the genre while also finding ways to make said conventions sound refreshing. "Steal the Sun" has made its way into my Top 100 Songs of All Time at this point. Yeah, it's that good. So, to say I was excited but also slightly nervous for the band's new album "So What?" was an understatement. I mean, after all, how could they match up to an album as nearly pitch perfect as "You Are We"? Well, the answer to that question is that they released an album that is just as good. I'm happy to say that WSS has released yet another album that I can give a perfect score.
To be entirely honest, any fears I had about this album paling in comparison to YAW should have been put to rest with the lead single "Anti-Social", which also happens to be the opening track on this album. This song is definitely the one that comes closest to the sounds of the band's previous album, but still works well thematically in context of this album. In 2017, I described "You Are We" as an album we needed for that year, one that said that we needed to come together with the things that we have in common rather than our differences. Even though the album had a justified anger to it, all in all it was a rather optimistic album. This album isn't quite as optimistic in its themes (at least in its beginning half), as it seems like the band is going on rants against everyone and everything. And yet, it still turns out to be a delightful listen, and the band's anger isn't coming from an exaggerated place. "Anti-Social" is an INCREDIBLE song, getting the listener immediately hyped for what is to come for the rest of the release. The pulsating guitar riffs make you want to head bang along instantly, and the frantic drumming adds to that effect. Of course, Lawrence Taylor and Sean Long are both instantly recognizable as they trade off vocals skillfully throughout this track. What is most interesting about this song is its rap segment that works better than it had any right to. And then after that rap segment, the song explodes to life again in a delightful way and ends off on quite the incredible breakdown. Taylor even lets loose some darkly clever satire as he thanks headphones for being a way to drown out all the pointless noise and hatefulness of the world. I could see this being a clever meta-commentary on the reason that the band makes music. After this, we get a song that I may actually like even better than the previous one, "I've Seen It All". The insane guitar work that begins the song off hooked me in right away, and the chorus is one of the quickest to hook any listener in. This album does have a bit more accessibility to it than "You Are We" in my opinion, as this album is the first indicator of the more hard rock core this album has. Make no mistake: this album rocks HARD. It keeps the intensity amped up to 100 throughout the whole run time. Just listen to "I've Seen It All", and try to convince me that this track doesn't make you sing along right away. I love the way this song progresses throughout and stays consistently unpredictable.
"Inspire" introduces the first bit of electronic experimentation we see popping up in certain places on the rest of the album. The usage of electronics is definitely at its heaviest in this song, though. On first listen, I wasn't quite sure what to think of the song. It wasn't the first track that popped out to me. But rest assured, this song is still really good. In fact, it has some of the most intriguing lyricism of the album: "We've been grazed by the outbreak/We've been nettled by the fakes/Snakes and mistakes and time again we've shown/You can't even wait till the dust has settled". The album continues on full steam ahead with the title track, which is one of the most significant highlights in an album chock full of stellar songs. The hook of "Did you know you'll never know?" feels like a pointed call out to those who feel so confident in the view point they hold that they'll never give it up. I think this song could most clearly be a commentary against religion, which would make sense as WSS establishes in "Anti-Social" how they're sick of religion. I don't entirely agree with the commentary the band makes of course, but I can't say that it's presented in a bad way either. The band still very much so has unity on their band, even if they are more cynical in the beginning half of this release on the possibility of achieving it. Plus, the guitar riff that plays throughout this song is one of the most intricate and interesting riffs I've heard in recent memory. It. Is. Excellent. Another one of favorite songs comes in the constantly unpredictable and interesting "The Guilty Party". It uses electronics like "Inspire", but I do think I prefer the way this track uses them. I particularly like the transition from synths to guitar work in the endlessly singable chorus. I like how this song says that we are all guilty of something in one way, so if anything, we should be united in our guilt and try to find ways of working through it together. Once again, this is a darker way of presenting unity, but I think it's a necessary framing. Sometimes being united by our struggles makes us stronger than anything else. The band clearly states this with the thematic statement "I don't need to feel like I can't do this all on my own". We don't have to feel alone in our fights when there are other people around us fighting the same battles we are. This is powerful stuff.
"Haunt Me" was the second single of the album, and this track continues to make me think, as it has some of the most symbolic and poetic lyrics written on this album: "It's the dose that makes it poisonous/It tastes bitter but we're keeping our head above the surface/We're still alive although we've been bitten/It's like a sickness written into our anatomy". The guitar work in this song almost makes it feel like it could belong in the classic metal age; in fact, this whole song does feel musically like an ode to classic metal. This song has grown on me the most significantly out of any track on the album. If you've missed the more metalcore While She Sleeps on this album, then you'll adore the furious song "Elephant". This is definitely the most intense song on the album, and the intensity is necessary. The band holds nothing back on this song, as Lawrence screams out: "How many times do I have to disobey to be saved?/We're already the cause but we call it a mistake, I believed it/Even if it's just a figure of our imagination/The ground we walk is sacred but the grave we make is closer to hell". That's some amazing commentary right there, explicitly criticizing us for the way we have ruined the world and have ruined each other. This song is the most hopeless on the album, the one that wallows the most in despair. Thankfully, this album does conceptually have redemption in its incredible ending, starting with the very hopeful "Set You Free". This song really does see the band embracing the possibility of people accepting one another and setting each other free from their insecurities. All this is done behind a gorgeous guitar riff that brings to mind "Hurricane". "Good Grief" sees the band actually embracing a sense of companionship with others in the most melodic and softest moment on the album. I adore this song for how simplistic it is, as that makes this one stand out in a different way. "Back of My Mind" Sees Lawrence Taylor becoming the spokesperson for everyone who needs it. The band has found a reason to care, whereas in the beginning album the band was ranting against everything to do with society. "Gates of Paradise" is a song I can't really put into words in this review. It's the band's most musically intricate track to date, and my favorite on the album. Just listen to it, and you'll know why it's my favorite.
Did I expect While She Sleeps to release another perfect album? No, I did not. I don't expect that of any band, as it's nearly impossible to do. And yet, this band does it. They released an album full of songs that are able to be fun and thematically deep at the same time. You can head bang along to so many tracks here. But other times, you'll be wanting to pay attention to the lyrics here as this album is so well-written. While She Sleeps compelling answered the cynical question of "So What?", giving us reasons why we need to care about each other. They just needed to wade through the cynicism and anger first, but the journey was more than worth it. The pessimistic and optimistic sides of this album both offer great ideas and thoughts about society that are important to hear from one of the most interesting voices in metalcore. Please, check this album out!
Favorite Songs: "Gates of Paradise", "The Guilty Party", "So What?", "I've Seen It All", "Anti-Social", "Set You Free"
Least Favorite Songs: NONE
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