Review by Murray Duncan
I was quite excited when I was asked to review this album as I always felt a very positive vibe towards Lostprophets. I was never a diehard fan of them but I did have a strong love for a few songs.
The album overall was definitely not what I expected. It seems as if Ian Watkins voice has weakened since their last album “The Betrayed” in 2010 and hasn’t got the same power and passion to it.
I think the thing that really kept me listening to this album was the fast guitar playing which you can’t help to head bang even a little bit too. Songs such as “Another Shot”, “Bring Em Down” and “A Song From Where I’m From” had really fast, upbeat intros but unfortunately followed into Ian Watkins voice which seemed ruin the upbeat feeling and bring the mood down a bit. “Somedays” seemed to be one of these slower sort of acoustic songs which really aren’t catchy in slightest and gradually towards the end get louder as a sort of burst of emotion which is meant to get the listeners screaming out the words - unfortunately this song failed to do so.
I know it seems that I am being really critical about this album but I was just really disappointed and expected a lot better. But I need to give Lostprophets some credit. I loved “Jesus Walks”, “A Little Reminder That I’ll Never Forget” and “Heart on Loan” when it felt like Ian Watkins tried really hard to sound amazing. “We Bring An Arsenal” was one of these songs that I knew would be a great song for them to play at gigs and concerts just because of the chanting but if I’m perfectly honest It didn’t do much for me.
Unfortunately that positive vibe I once had for Lostprophets has gone a bit. Even though they have classics such as “Rooftops”, “A Town Called Hypocrisy”, “It’s Not The End Of The World” and “Wake Up”. I think that many people will enjoy this album but It really wasn’t all that special for me
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