CLINT LOWERY | God Bless The Renegades | Album Review

Sevendust is currently prepping up their thirteenth studio album for release later this year. But to hold us over, Clint Lowery, the band's longtime guitarist, has ventured into his own solo project entitled "God Bless The Renegades". Lowery has had many side projects over the years, such as Dark New Day and Call Me No One, and a separate solo venture bearing the title Hello Demons Meet Skeletons. Not only that, but he has been associated with several bands during his career, most notably as a full-time member of the band Seether. Other bands he has been involved with include Korn, 3 Years Hollow, Digital Summer, and he has written for bands like Nothing More and Red. He also has family in the music scene, namely his brother Corey who boasts an impressive tenure all his own performing for several bands. So, to say that the Lowery family has extremely talented musicians that have lasted a long time in their field is selling them a little short. "God Bless The Renegades" is another look into why Clint Lowery has remained versatile throughout his entire career, not just as a guitarist and singer, but also as a performer and someone who can construct an album that's worth the listen from front to back. It seems daunting for one member of a highly successful band to venture out on his own, but in the case of Clint Lowery, things seem to be looking bright.

During the pre-release album cycle, we were delivered a taste of Lowery's new venture in the form of three singles, the titular track, "Kings", and "Alive". If you've listened to any of the man's projects he's been apart of, you should probably know what to expect out of the three pre-released songs at hand. The title track starts off the album with an aggressive but radio-centric feeling, which isn't out of the ordinary but here it works very well. Clint Lowery's writing has showcased that he knows his way around an excellent hook that not only sounds unique but flows well in conjunction with the other elements of the song, and this title track is the best example I can find of that. It is definitely a major highlight on this album. The first released song, "Kings", also works in an excellent hook that is destine to have listeners involved in some way. The musicianship on each track is excellent and it is additional proof that Clint Lowery is naturally talented in terms of his musical output. Aside from him being able to carry a song with his vocal talent, Lowery performed every instrument on this album, although Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of Eddie Van Halen provided additional drumwork on some of these tracks. One would have thought that Lowery would have enlisted other musicians to help him out, but that's not the case, and I think it's something that takes this album to another level.

One of my principle complaints about bands and solo ventures tied with Sevendust is that they carry too much resemblance to that band. It's something that has been definitely noticeable. While there are moments on this album that will make one think of the band that put Lowery on the map, there are other moments on "God Bless The Renegades" that sound quite different and showcase that Lowery is not a one trick pony. The most prominent example of this is the closing track "Do We Fear God", which features more of a rock ballad style to it and is the softest song on the album. The instrumentation is unique here and the lyrics are well written and a bit thought provoking. Even when the album goes for the typical route in songs like "Alive", "What's The Matter", "You Go First", and even "Here", there is still a lot of effort put in to the final product. "Alive" features a highly catchy chorus and is probably the best song on the album. "What's The Matter" has an addictive groove to it while also being fleshed out as a song, and that's what makes it work so well. "You Go First" is a passionate ballad that would have fit well on rock radio in the early 2010's and would have been one of the better selections of that era. All of these tracks feature an array of excellent hooks, well-written verses, and competent musicianship that soars and doesn't come back down until the flight is complete.

If there are any flaws I can attribute to this album, one is that the album isn't nearly as technical as his work in other bands, meaning that there are only two solos to be found here. Both of these appear on the first two singles, and they're more of the simpler variety in contrast to Lowery's work on Sevendust's most recent album "All I See Is War". Also, this album lacks moments on it that push it over the limit to become one of the year's best albums, and it doesn't have a track on it that really pushes things to the limit or past it in terms of quality. Also, this is a 10-track album, proving that there isn't as much ground to cover. But, in nature, ten tracks do not mean that an album is going to be good or bad, and Clint Lowery made some extremely competent hard rock music with this solo venture. It's no surprise when a member of a band branches out in a separate project and retains the same level of consistency that's present in the band that he originated from, and Clint Lowery definitely succeeded in his attempts to do something for himself. Overall, "God Bless The Renegades" is a solid 10-track release filled with passionate hard rock music that would satisfy any fan of Sevendust or Clint Lowery in general, all the while exploring a few new areas in the process. If you are familiar with any of the names that Lowery has been attached to, you'll be satisfied to find a lot of blessings with the final product. 

RATING: 7/10 

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