{"id":59791,"date":"2018-05-03T21:33:40","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T20:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=59791"},"modified":"2018-05-03T21:33:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T20:33:40","slug":"review-the-word-alive-violent-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-the-word-alive-violent-noise\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Word Alive – Violent Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Reduced from a quintet to a trio since the release of 2016’s ‘Dark Matter’<\/em>, Tyler ‘Telle’ Smith, Zack Hansen and Tony Pizzuti again partner with that record’s producer Matt Good (Asking Alexandria, From First To Last) for ‘Violent Noise’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As has been widely pointed out, the fifth studio album from The Word Alive<\/strong> marks a decade since the Arizona band’s genesis. As with the line-up, their sound has changed and developed over the years, but whether or not that process can be called true progression with the release of\u00a0‘Violent Noise’<\/em> may be a different matter.<\/p>\n

Things start promisingly enough with ‘Red Clouds’<\/em> and ‘Why Am I Like This’<\/em> hitting their stride at just the right moments; both well-structured, melodically engaging and offering hope that the rest of the record will be as memorable.<\/p>\n

That hope proves to be rather short-lived. The bewildering preoccupation of metalcore groups with cramming as many guest spots as possible onto their albums is embodied by rapper Sincerely Collins on ‘Human’<\/em> and Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop on ‘Stare At The Sun’<\/em>. Worsnop is the best thing about the latter, a ponderous, tiresome attempt to go big that prompts a swift reach for the skip button.<\/p>\n

‘Stare At The Sun’<\/em> aside, the album’s first half is certainly its strongest, with ‘I Fucked Up’<\/em> and ‘War Evermore’<\/em> striking a successful balance between heart and heavy, without expanding much beyond that.<\/p>\n