LIGHT THE TORCH | Revival | Album Review

Continuing on with a band after changing the band name is substantially difficult. This applies to metalcore supergroup Light The Torch. Formerly known as Devil You Know and with two albums underneath them carrying that name, the team of vocalist Howard Jones (previously of Killswitch Engage) along with members of All Shall Perish and Devolved have put their own spin on the metalcore genre in order to make it a little more unique than what their former bands were known for. Now, with the release of "Revival", the third album overall from this pairing of individuals, we get something a little bit different even from that. Talking in interviews about the album before its release, vocalist Howard Jones stated about the album's tone, "We were really going for songs. The structuring made more sense. I was focused on melody and harmony. I really cut loose". He later went on to state, "There was enough we had gone through that I had a whole wealth of emotions and stories. Some are fiction. Some are non-fiction. Some may apply to me. Some may not. If you listen closely, I promise you can hear where we've been and where we're going". Keep in mind that this band has gone through a lot since 2015's "They Bleed Red" and this album, some other lesser known things being the death of Jones' older brother and lineup changes in the band itself. So, it makes sense that this would inspire a disc more rooted in melodic and harmonious values. But, the real question revolves around if it measures up to quality music or not. 

Two singles were released to promote the album in the weeks before its release, those two being the tracks "Die Alone" and "Calm Before The Storm". Both tracks appear in the first half of the album and are notably cut from similar cloth, if not the same cloth, in terms of what they sonically sound like. Both these songs have the same speed, beats per minute, and even the melodies and the guitar riffs are wholly similar to each other in nature. Once you get past that small detail, you start to realize that this isn't exactly the case. "Calm Before The Storm" is surprisingly an upbeat track about perseverance while "Die Alone", which is the album's opener, is what you'd expect out of this band and also isn't much different from Howard Jones' work in Kilswitch Engage. Out of the two, I feel as though "Calm Before The Storm" has more to offer. While both songs have strong qualities to them, such as good guitar riffage and a good performance from Jones, this track does have some individuality to it and feels like a track that this band and each of its players haven't really written before. Even though this is the better song out of the two tracks that were released first, both tracks are as close on the good scale as they possibly can get. And what makes it better is that "Revival" as an album is definitely not a case where the only two good songs are the singles because there is a TON of variety and quality to be found here.

Most of the tracks on this album do follow similarly in vein to the two singles as cuts that can easily fit onto radio and at the same time actually have substance. However, what people will not know from only listening to the two songs is that even these tracks elevate and have different sequences and shifts juxtaposed together masterfully. "The God I Deserve" is sandwiched between the two singles on the tracklist, but it turns out to be one of the heavier tracks on the album, but it isn't Howard Jones screaming endlessly for several verses while the choruses have clean singing. There are tons of melodies here, but it's backed behind the crushing guitar riffs that appear throughout the song, and they are ear candy especially with the background singers. Tracks that follow in a similar line to the two singles are tracks like "Virus", "The Safety Of Disbelief", "Pull My Heart Out", and "Raise The Dead", and all of these I would consider even better than the two singles. This is just fantastic material and Howard Jones is really at his best here vocally, including when his screams come into play. Every element brought into this album fits in unison and nothing feels misplaced or misguided. It is even furthered with tracks like "The Great Divide" and "The Sound Of Violence", where both the softer and heavier side are showcased to perfection. "The Sound Of Violence" itself is a two and a half minute chugfest that creates a haunting atmosphere instead of having only metalcore riffs to fill up time, and it's what a lot of fans of the heavier stuff will gravitate towards the most. 

Only occasionally on this album will you meet a bump in the road where the songwriting isn't up to par or the allure isn't the strongest, such as the track "The Bitter End", "Lost In The Fire", or the closer "Judas Convention". However, the rest of the album and even these weaker moments are still consistent and genuine. Howard Jones and company have been steering this ship ever since the early 2010's and I feel like this is the supergroup's best achievement to date, and that's crazy considering the fact that they're under a different name. They still have their identity even through that. Overall, Light The Torch prove why a metalcore product seeking airplay doesn't always have to rely on the same building materials as everyone else. Fans of every band these men were apart of will find this album to be fantastic and among one of the best in their repertoire, and even people who didn't like those bands will find something of value from this album. Don't get me wrong, this album isn't necessarily a game changer or an awe-inspiring piece of metal music a la Trivium's "The Sin And The Sentence", but for metal fans and even rock fans in general, this is an easy recommendation. The torch is lit and the ones who lit it have revived faster than they ever have.

RATING: 9/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.