Another thumping in-your-face musical retreat for angry adolescents
Since their last album ‘To The Pain’ in 2005, Nonpoint have been busy touring with some huge names in Metal, sharing the stage with the likes of Disturbed, Mudvayne and Stone Sour. Their brand of metal radiates with an energetic anger that comes from where Limp Bizkit left off with ‘Break Stuff’, exploring issues of conflict and frustration that any confused teenager can understand. Being a twenty-something female this isn’t quite what floats my boat, but the quality of the music means it isn’t just adolescent boys who’ll enjoy the record.
Of course, no-one should really be surprised by the threatening ferocity of Nonpoint’s sound; the name of their album gives a clue to the content of the music. Launching with ‘Wake Up World’, ‘Vengeance’ is a cathartic mixture of violence and noisy defiance. ‘Wake Up World’ gives the listener a taste of what’s to come, with its strutting guitar riffs and screaming backing vocals. Followed by ‘What I Do Best’, which follows the same pattern and throws in some squealing guitars for good measure, and the drum-heavy destruction call that is ‘Vengeance’, it’s a good introduction to Nonpoint’s fast-paced and relentless energy.
‘Bring Me Down’ is another tough-talking whirlwind of churning drums and bassy arrogance, and, while ‘March Of War’ is one of the noisiest and angriest songs on the album (although admittedly there’s a lot of them), it also rises and falls like someone’s temper invariably would. As it follows so many noisy and angry songs, this pace is a welcome respite. Similarly, ‘Breathe’ provides a change in tone, with its powerful vocals, rich soaring chorus and melancholic harmony that exhibits perfectly how Nonpoint can control their music just as easily as letting rip in their preferred furious style. Placed in the centre of the album, it is a necessary break that reminds the listener of just what else the band can do.
‘Hands Off’ takes the pace back up in style and subscribes further to the tough testosterone-fuelled ethos of the album with its violent lyrics and grinding guitar. ‘A Way Out’ is a thumping epic which pushes the album on further with its strong vocals. Further songs like ‘Change Your Mind’ and ‘Everybody Down’ follow suit and are stomping tracks. ‘When It’s Over’ rolls on with its layered harmonies and crashing drums to bring the album to an abrupt end. In fact, there are no truly poor songs on the album. One small point is that it could do with a little more content variation and pace to really separate the tracks from each other because they do seem to flow together. However, there are some excellent melodies and guitar performances, and it seems that with this considered, the band could have flexed their muscles in more ways than one.