Album Review :
Relent - Heart Attack (Revisited Review)

A little over a year ago, I wrote a review for “Heart Attack” by new(er) nu metal band, Relent. Recently, the band has re-released the ep on Rockfest Records and so, I thought I’d re-review the re-release. Without looking back to the review done last March, let’s revisit “Heart Attack”, including the newly added tracks.

I will say that since the initial review done last March, my love and excitement for the ep hasn’t waned a bit; it has longevity. For an album, much less an ep, to maintain its excitement and “go-to” factor after a year says something. I’ve always been a sucker for this style of music and these guys do it especially well.

The initial release of the ep featured the first seven songs available on the re-release and so much of what I have to say regarding those tracks will be reminiscent of my thoughts in my first review. The songs contain the tuned down guitars, grooves, and feel you’d expect to find in nu metal. The vocals are very well executed and can range from the smooth and melodic, to screams, to rapped parts.

Revisiting the ep, “Rise” is the track that seems to especially stand out as the strongest song on the ep, and the one that would make the perfect single. From the outset, the song builds into a heavy riff, culminated with a scream, “Rise!”. The first verse is more laid back with a nice melodic vocal leading us into a chorus that declares a love for God that is just deepening more and more as we reflect on what Jesus did for us; something that will reveal itself in our lives the more of a reality it becomes to us. “I choose to rise, He chose to rise”. The second verse is rapped and noticeably more aggressive throughout. Great song.

Additionally, of the first seven tracks, “Send A Miracle” is also a very strong offering from the band. This song follows the same patter as “Rise”, with a melodic first verse followed by a rapped, more aggressive second verse. The chorus proclaims, “I’m not estranged to suffering, there’s power in my pain. Don’t believe the lie, this too will pass you by. On my knees I scream, “When’s it gonna be over?” Send a miracle!”, a plea to God in a time of trouble. The thing I really love on this track is the breakdown. Coming out of the second verse, there’s a brief bridge that just slams into this breakdown that sounds amazing. Very well constructed song.

Moving into the newly added tracks, “Low” tackles depression, anxiety, and addiction, recognizing how it can affect us, but also that there’s hope to overcome. The song is very reminiscent at times of some of Korn’s earlier material. It has many of the elements that make nu metal great, providing melodies that will be stuck in your head for hours and will hit you just right with a killer breakdown just following the bridge. It’s a very relatable song with a great sound.

Lastly, how can we not discuss the cover of DC Talk’s “Jesus Freak”? The song is an extremely bold choice for much of anyone to cover, given the countless fans of DC Talk and such a classic track as this. Despite this, I haven’t seen anyone take issue with the cover, but quite the contrary, it was met with rave reviews among my social (media) circles. Without saying, the cover is a heavy rendering of the classic and the band remained faithful to the original in many ways, while adding their aggressive styling to it. The drums stood out on this one for me, as I really enjoyed some of the timing on certain parts (“in a typical tattoo green”) and the bridge breakdown is just insane and fits the cover perfectly.

Throughout the ep, it is exceptionally obvious these guys have a strong and unashamed love for Jesus and heavy, hard-hitting music. If you missed out on this ep the first time around, jump on it now and brace for impact. Relent is a band that is singlehandedly reviving and improving nu metal, bring you hard hitting grooves that minister not just to your ears, but your spirit as well.