SEASONS LOST - review added 5th November 2009
Album Review: After The Storm (2009)
For fans of: Alt Metal... and statues bathed in light streaming through dark clouds
Seasons Lost hail from Florida in the good old US of A. They were formed toward the end of 2005. After The Storm is their debut album.
The band is Shaie Mason on vocals, Parker Tindell on lead guitar, Anton Foresta on rhythm guitar, Mark Ellis on drums and Andy Uihlein on bass. Parker has, since the recording of the album, parted ways with the band (to all intents and purposes on good terms).
The sound is a right old mixture. At times the music almost sinks into acoustic pop, then it'll rise up through indie, rock into surprisingly pumping metal. Seasons Lost do R.E.M., Journey and Staind, through to Metallica, Pantera and Trivium. It's like hearing an entire day's radio play on one album, and it kind of works. It doesn't make total sense, but it makes a lot more than it has any right to.
The musicianship is fine. There are only a few blow-you-away-impressive moments, but the majority is solid and controlled. The vocals are generally good too. Shaie Mason occasionally becomes flat and uninspiring, but equally he often hints at something amazing. On balance the whole album is pleasantly meaty and good-enough. With more time and money (and perhaps a top producer) it could have been exceptional.
Song-wise, 'To Hell and Back' is good 'n' chunky, 'Confession' and 'The Big Empty' are both noisy ballads with plenty of moody charm, 'Skeletal Remedy' is a cracking heavy-beasty of a track, 'Forever' does the introspective sad-but-loud ballad thing again, 'Predanatural' has a phat rif, even if the rest of the song perhaps doesn't live up to that bombastic standard, final track 'Grave Shifter' heads in the direction of death metal offering truly heavy breakdowns and monster hooks.
Not a bad album this. 'Skeletal Remedy' and the final track best demonstrate the sound Seasons Lost should be making. They do heavy and gnarly really well. The band also do sad and moody with panache, but I'm not sure I actually want to be listening to depressing music when other options exist. After The Storm has its moments, and arguably a lot more of them than I expected.
Check out... Their Myspace page with it's covers of Metallica and Journey (at the time of writing).
Track List:
1. To Hell and Back
2. Confession
3. The Big Empty
4. Borrowed Time
5. Dry Ground
6. Skeletal Remedy
7. Forever
8. Taken Away
9. Predanatural
10. Grave Shifter
Artist's website(s): Seasons Lost , MySpace
