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Million selling As I Lay Dying return with another huge slab of Metalcore, once again reminding me that Metalcore is an excellent genre when left to the good bands. The Powerless Rise follows the band’s wildly successful An Ocean Between Us album and their platinum certified DVD.
Part of me wishes I could say that As I Lay Dying have stretched their wings here. They haven’t though. In fact, this album is very similar to An Ocean Between Us. What they have done though is continue to perfect an extremely imperfect genre of music. With each album these guys get better and this one is no exception. As a half-hearted fan of the genre I find myself leaning towards the more melodic songs. Songs like “Vacancy” and “The Blinding of False Light” soar as much as they grind, proving the band to be more than a one trick pony (something they started incorporating into their albums a few years back) and distancing themselves just enough from their peers to offer them a shot at a mainstream existence. “Parallels” also offers the beauty and the beast vocal approach that they do so perfectly as well as one of the best Metal solos I have heard in a longtime. It is easily the highlight of the album for me.
Of course, the band rips you a new one plenty of times throughout the album as well. The explosive “Without Conclusion” is an insanely fast tromp through the Metal forest. “Upside Down Kingdom” is mostly brutal as well, allowing the melodic vocal to seep in for just few moments here and there.
Bottom Line: It’s hard to believe that As I Lay Dying is that same “little” Pluto Records band that all my hardcore friends were into. Well, at least a little the same. After all, the same ferocity that drives The Powerless Rise is the same unrelenting pulse that
Key Tracks: “Parallels," “Upside Down Kingdom”
Reviewed by: Mark Fisher
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