Blessthefall
Hard Feelings

Hard feelings are what they feel when they are releasing album number six. That is hard feeling for the band Blessthefall, a band that has been with us for a while now with their debut album being released back in 2007. A band that has been described as a Christian metalcore band even though they themselves prefer not to be labelled in that way as they do not preach through their music even though they are all Christians. And it is good that they do not preach as no one likes to be preached to, and it was nothing I thought about when listening to the band but something I read when researching them a little bit for this review. They have changed members a lot and some reviewers claim that this album is quite average, and they are not completely wrong in that assumption.

A metalcore-album, that is quite typical of that genre with hardcore growling and typical clean vocals with vocalists sounding as they usually do in this genre. It is quite catchy with good melodies, the soundscape is great and the album is relatively varied for the genre. Playing time is also kept sensible so you will not think the album is too long but it is an album you feel rather done with after hearing in once or twice. The style is too typical and the songs never really feel personal or excitingly fresh – the sound is fresh and modern but nothing else. Perhaps some more novelty should have been attempted but the sense is that they play it very safe to reach as wide an audience as possible, it is a rather inoffensive and sage album.

Right from the start it is clear that this album will not attempt anything brave or exciting and the sense of averageness might feel strong but it is a nice and good album that I don’t think you should be able to dislike. It works in many ways and should certainly appeal to many, and I think that includes the fans of the band. There are no weak songs on the album and opening Wishful Sinking along with Sleepless in Phoenix are examples of pretty strong songs within this genre, that along with great sound makes this an album that feels pretty nice to listen to even though I get a bit fed up with it pretty soon.

Definitely good, that has to be one conclusion. Another conclusion is that it feels a bit too general and made more for a mass audience than made by someone with a genuine love of making great and exciting music. The album will most likely be fairly successful and many will probably like it but I would have liked a bit more personality, bravery and originality from a band that has a fair deal of experience. Still, Hard Feelings is a good album and it will not really leave you with any hard feelings towards the band or album. It is just a nice album.

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