Band: The Wedding
Title: The Sound The Steel
Label: Brave New World
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Receive
02. Return
03. Renew
04. Reveal
05. Redeem
Losing a vocalist can quickly be the death of a band. The Wedding I’m sure hoped this wasn’t going to be the case upon hearing Kevin’s decision to step down. Thankfully and unexpectedly for me, they enlisted former Letter Kills vocalist Matt Shelton. Being a big fan of Letter Kills I was pumped to hear the news! This EP is a debut of the new lineup and it shows that the band has indeed weathered the storm quite nicely.
The album’s opener “Receive” is a catchy, bouncy track with an easy to sing along chorus, complete with gang vocals. You will notice quickly that Matt’s vocals blend really well with the bands sound. “Return” brings a southern rock guitar vibe (gasp!) initially but don’t worry it doesn’t last long. It settles in with a far more straightforward rock track. There is some pretty sweet vocal parts in this song a little over a minute in where it sounds like a choir joins Matt. The song also ends with a breakdown-esque ending that is the highlight of the song. It ends the song perfectly. Both “Renew” and “Redeem” are piano led songs which are both potential hits. Great sing-along tracks! I’ll admit I laughed when I heard the first guitar parts of “Reveal“. I thought the band had gone nu metal for a second. The riff is by far the heaviest part on the album and will get the crowds moving. Again the band has a big, catchy chorus to complement the rest of the song.
Overall Rating: This EP has some musical changes from the band’s last album Polarity, which is my favorite of their 4 releases. That album just was the band at the top of their game and made it harder for this EP to be stronger. The Sound The Steel offers a variety of styles, which is both good and bad. Good that it offers something for everyone but bad in that the sounds vary enough to lead me to desire some streamlining of their sound. I think the band will have to mold the various sounds into a more cohesive whole like the previous full length. That being said, if you liked The Wedding before you will most likely dig this album and it’s definitely worth checking out if they’re new to you. (7.5/10)
Standout Tracks: “Redeem”, “Return”
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