There are plenty of reviews for this album out there, but I find them to be overly complicated or an entire post of arse-kissing. I’m not going to try to sell you the album or turn you against it, I’m just trying to give you a rough outlook on the album, song by song.
Out of the many songs Otherwise has, many of them are less than stellar. If I am being honest, Adrian Patrick’s voice is the only reason I consider Otherwise to be a decent band. Adrian has such a complexity to his deep vibrato, in which he can sing with a tone trademarked completely by himself and his screams are never screechy or annoying. The man in talent walking.
It should be known, that I appreciate the fact that in True Love Never Dies there is a decent amount of love songs, I am a sucker for such things in rock if they are executed like a real rock song. I truly adore the lyrics in Die For You, such as “I’ll take what you give, but I won’t take it for granted” and there’s just something riveting about the way Adrian Patrick screams “Take my heart, just rip out”
Also, this album has those (I find pesky and fairly unnecessary) “breaks” or interludes that build into the upcoming song, so I won’t be giving these a review because…I don’t like them.
The first real song is Die For You. It starts off with an impressive, heavy intro and this continues with the first verse…but the chorus…is lacking. The chorus wimps out and the band starts playing this been-there-done-that-Daughtry-could-do-better-than-this tune. Then, the moment is saved when Adrian Patrick screams “So alive I’d die for you” and the chorus is over, flowing into another hard verse. Another thing I like about the verses in Die For You, is Adrian’s almost slow-rap (you probably disagree with that description).
Lighthouse….eh. This song doesn’t impress me, the music is ho-hum and so terribly lack luster I can’t think of a single compliment. This song, along with Scream Now, I Don’t Apologize (1,000 Pictures), Crimson and Full Circle can be very boring. They aren’t songs that I’ll ever put on repeat.
Don’t Be Afraid. I like this song, but it has the same illness as Die For You, the verses are really good; heavy guitar riffs and a catchy drum beat and then comes the chorus…*insert sigh here*
Vegas Girl is a classic example of a cliché rock song, and it’s songs like these that have stopped me from buying a Theory of a Deadman album, but I digress. It is really a shame, I think with a few changes to the music this song would be good. But, the lyrics here killed that chance, maimed it, buried it, and stomped on it’s grave.
Silence Reigns has received a lot of bad reviews, but honestly, it’s a good song. Otherwise’s music is at their best in Silence Reigns (nice and heavy), yes, there is still that annoying “wuss out” chorus, but it’s not to the extent of other songs. This song reminds me of Staind actually. (Also, compared to the first version of this song on another album, this version is out of the park)
Though Soldiers contains gimmicky lyrics, it is one of the best songs on True Love Never Dies, and really, I got past the lyrics quickly. It is a unique song, with diverse speeds that are not predictable and music that actually took creativity. Some people don’t like the war drums, but I think it adds a much needed element to this album as a whole.
Heaven is the only slow-tempo song here, it’s sweet and simple, a little bit more vulnerability would have been nice considering the bitter sweet topic. I suppose that was the reason for having Ashley Costello’s backing vocals, to add a certain level of timidity that Adrian can’t quite execute yet. It’s still a nice song.
Otherwise’s cover of Rolling In The Deep. This is a really good version of such an epic song. The fact that Rolling In The Deep could be done by someone other than Adele and actually be listenable tells us a lot about Otherwise. Though they aren’t quite to the level of the grand rock bands (Godsmack, Seether, Staind), they have the potential to be a solid contender for that title in the future.
True Love Never Dies probably isn’t that album that you’ll blast in the car when you need a break from the world, however I think it’s worth purchasing if you are tired of your current playlist. Plus, Amazon has been selling a digital copy of TLND for five dollars for a while now, you can’t go wrong with five bucks!
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