Mind Noise Network
A Skylit Drive - A Skylit Drive
by Amarpal Singh - 27 October 2015
Who said losing half your band has to affect the way you sound? Well...everybody. With the daily announcements of bands disbanding and farewell tours on the horizon it is no surprise that some musicians are packing it in all together. Sometimes a single member leaving a band can have a devastating effect, so when Brian White (unclean vocalist) and Cory La Quay (drummer and backing vocalist) left A Skylit Drive trouble was not only in the cards, it was in the whole damn deck!
However, on the back of the amazing success of Rise, their fourth studio album, and the gem which was Rise: Ascension (their acoustic sequel) they weren't willing to just lose all the momentum they had gained.
The band members were quickly replaced by Brandon Ritcher and Michael Labelle and they shot out a self-titled record to boot in quick time. I am always interested in self-titled albums, especially if it is not their debut album. It gives a band an opportunity to lay down a marker, a line in the sand. "Hello world, this is who we are now. This is our new sound. This is our new band. This is our new label. And we're using a self-titled album to bookmark this event".
The album itself is a shocker in the sense of it is business as normal. From losing two key members who wrote a considerable amount of the music to come back with an album which sounds the same as their previous ones is the equivalent of slipping on some water, crashing to floor and then starting to do some push-ups.
The album lays down it’s line in the sand with opening song Bring Me A War. It is packed with the same metal-core passion that can be heard in both their last two successful albums. They don't just stop with that one line, they practically make a tapestry in the sand with strong song after strong song with my personal favourite being Falling Apart In A (Crow)ded Room. This track has you screaming the chorus in the faces of passers-by and small children as you walk through town with your earphones in.
So what can we make of how this fifth self-titled album will fall into rock history? ASD never claim to be a band that will change the world. But they deliver solid performance after solid performance with their albums and live shows. With this new lineup I can see this album being a solid chapter in their ever growing discography.
Amarpal's recommended tracks: Shock To The Heart
For fans of: The Blackout and Bullet For My Valentine
Can you see these guys in the UK?: There doesn't look like there any dates yet.
â—„
1/20
â–º