By Katie Reid
You know that one-man mosh pit you’ve been wanting to have in your bedroom but just couldn’t find the right album? Well stop the search, I’ve found it!
While She Sleeps were set to be British metal’s next big thing and after the release of debut album This is the Six, their future looking bright. Then it all began to fall apart at the close of 2013 with vocalist Loz Taylor having to undergo throat surgery and the internet rumoring the band’s break up. Being a member of While She Sleeps started to look a little shaky.
One triumphant return at 2014’s Download later and While She Sleeps are back with second album Brainwashed and trust me, you’re going to want to know about it. The album is huge from the off, opener New World Torture hitting you right in the face as you sit wondering how something so brutal could be so catchy! From the start it’s obvious that guitarist Matt Welsh is taking more of a vocal role on this album but that’s no complaint, for this is by far the best WSS album yet and we’re only one song in!
Your Evolution is HEAVY! Slow sections show that the band can do emotion and not just full on brutality. Title track Brainwashed will have you singing along straight away with a catchy chorus and guitars so fast that you’ll have whiplash; it’s the smack in the face and the kick in the teeth that we know and love WSS for! We Are Alive at Night is a slow, beautiful guitar track that gives you time to recover before jumping back into the pit for single Our Legacy, which is another full on assault to the senses. Four Walls shows the new found maturity of WSS in all its glory and with the feeling of a call to arms, will leave you singing “Everyone dies when they’re dead” for days to come. The stand out track on the album is No Sides, No Enemies, full of harmonies, gang vocals and the most mature guitar sound Sleeps have ever produced. This song is the way for them to go, it drips with emotion and the chants are just made for a live setting. Modern Minds is the perfect album closer, it leaves you completely satisfied but with enough adrenaline to go into the pit for another round.
Many people will doubt that While She Sleeps can still be relevant after three quiet years but Brainwashed will quickly change their minds. It’s different without alienating old fans and has matured in a way that will attract new followers of all ages.
If you’re a metal fan and don’t go to the ABC April 29th to see the Sleeps boys co-headline with Cancer Bats you’re mad. Live is where this band are at their finest and let me tell you after an album like this it’s gonna be some show.} else {
