36 Crazyfists - Lanterns

I remember the first time I heard about 36 Crazyfists. I remember it being a very important and pivotal part of my musical exploration as a teen. I bought an issue of Kerrang! magazine that had a free CD with it. I used to only buy issues of Kerrang! if it had a CD with it because, well, y'know, more for your money and all that. This CD was called "Ripped" if my memory serves me, and I don't really remember the bands that were featured on it. Apart from 36 Crazyfists. "The Heart And The Shape" was one of the first tracks featured on this CD, and it knocked me for six. The blend of heavy riffing with melodic vocals was an immediate winner for me. Up to this point in my life, I hadn't heard anything that was so punishing whilst also being so catchy and melodic. And that guitar tone, so gain heavy and punchy. I was hooked. The next day I took my paper round money to HMV and bought my copy of A Snow Capped Romance, and my love affair began that day when I completely fell for the album. I've always tried to stay in touch with what they've released, but I haven't been as tuned in since Rest Inside The Flames. I felt the need to focus my attention to their latest release Lanterns, something I feel like I should've done a few albums ago. Let's see if the Alaskan metalcore mob have still got that punch.

Album opener and first single "Death Eater" is a huge statement. They haven't lost their edge. A marriage of heavy riffs, pounding drums, and that catchy vocal over heavy guitar work that I've grown to know and love. This is one of the heaviest tracks on the record, and is a definitive nod to their roots and how they sounded back when they first started. "Wars To Walk Away From" is packed full of grit and power, courtesy of Brock Lindow's vocals, showcasing the lyrical theme of a personal journey, learning lessons from the things that are thrown at you and coming out on the other side. "Better To Burn" is thick and meaty, full of groove and decoratively littered with clean tones, giving a nice contrast to the harder sections. "Damaged Under Sun" is another track that sound like it could've featured on an earlier Crazyfists album, effortlessly merging that heavy guitar driven sound with catchy vocals. The following track "Sea and Smoke" is the first appearance of their softer and slower side, showcasing Lindow's command of his vocal chords and his ability to write strong melodies. It feels almost like a ballad, stripping the instruments back in the right places and allowing the atmosphere to build and put the emotive lyrics at the forefront of the focus. "Where Revenge Ends" gives you a chance to regain your breath after the first 5 tracks, featuring an acoustic guitar and Lindow's raspy and gritty voice lulling you into the calm. Further on in the album, "Below The Graves" is a big chunk of classic Crazyfists with a huge metal edge, equipped with an enormous chorus and some very well structured phrases. The verse riff has an almost southern edge to it, really adding a nice twang to the the vocals. Album closer "Dark Corners" is impressive, too; a dark and brooding way to finish things off. Lyrically the album is an insight into Lindow's struggles, so it makes complete sense to end the album with this vibe and intelligently bringing a sense of resolve to the album.

The album is great. It's everything you'd expect from one of their albums, but it just feels like it's lacking something. The back end of the album, for me, trails off. The first few tracks are all concrete, full of memorable moments and sharp songwriting, but everything towards the end just doesn't pack that same focus. I almost had to force myself to finish listening to the album, as I began to lose interest past the halfway point. It almost feels like half of the album is just filler, which is a shame. The production of the record is great too, but it doesn't blow me away. If you listen to their older material and then skip forward to this release, there isn't a lot of difference, which probably has something to do with guitarist Steve Holt being at the helm of the production process. In places, everything sounds a bit muddy and gets a bit lost. It isn't all bad, though. The guitars do sound just as punchy and gigantic as ever, the drums are snappy, the vocals burst through the mix nicely too. It just isn't consistent.

There was a bit of chatter that 36 Crazyfists had lost their way a little bit with the last few albums. I think that this album definitely shows that if they had lost it, they're back on track now with Lanterns. Although the album isn't a start to finish masterpiece, it has got some stand out tracks and some really memorable moments. Lyrically and musically dark in many places, this shows a real maturity to the bands sound, whilst still holding on to all of the elements that made them great when they first surfaced all those years ago. Definitely worth a listen for old fans and new. Not their best, but still a strong album that deserves a spin if you're fan of any of their back catalogue. They're back.

D.S

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Having An Album Out Is Weird

So, it's been a very hectic, strange, exciting, overwhelming, exhausting and eye opening few days. For many reasons. Pretty much from Friday last week onwards, I haven't stopped. I've been busy sorting things out, getting things in order, preparing for the future, travelling, playing shows, doing interviews, working, and trying to get my head in order. All of this has revolved around releasing my bands debut album. And releasing it has been completely different to what I expected.

All of last week, I can honestly say that the approach to releasing the album didn't really feel special. We'd been sat on it for a while, and I almost felt numb I guess? I just wanted the material to be out there, and I thought that once it was it'd just feel like one less thing to focus on. No real internal release, no weight off my shoulders, just another thing that happened during my week. I was very wrong. As soon as it hit midnight and I realised it was out, I emotionally crumbled. The sheer realisation that something we'd worked so hard on was finally in the public domain completely flooded my senses and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I almost had an outer body experience where all the weight within me just lifted. I felt like I was floating. I can't really explain it any other way that I felt completely weightless, carefree. I was just hovering in that realisation. And it was very overwhelming. Messages from friends started to appear in my inbox, all complimentary, all saying something along the lines of "you should be proud". I honestly don't think I've ever had this much support and praise from anybody about anything I've done in my life, and I didn't really know what to do with all of this. I still don't. It all feels very alien. Nothing I've done with my life has felt like this before.

I managed to eventually get some sleep, and I woke up to more complimentary messages. People sharing screenshots of their Spotify app playing our album, people taking pictures of their album pre-orders that had turned up on their doorstep. And then I started getting messages about Gonvena. I wasn't ready for these messages. For those unaware, Gonvena is a track on the album that I wrote about my mums death. The name comes from two things. The first is a place in Cornwall we visited a few times when I was growing up. The second is the name of my Granddad's house, the house my mum grew up in. My Granddad has outlived two wives and his daughter, he's had various types of cancer and survived them all, he's an incredible and inspiring human being. But it's all taken it's toll and he's now quite frail, and had to move out of his beloved house. Naming the song Gonvena was my way of keeping mum and my Granddad together. I'd been listening to this song for months, but this was new to everybody else, and it's now impossible for me to listen to. The way I feel about my mum passing appears to have been portrayed in the song, and the support and praise I've had for that in particular has been a lot to take in. I was not expecting a response like this at all. From Friday onwards I've done a lot of crying and I'm not ashamed to say that. When it comes to my feelings, I am a bottler. I push everything real far down so no one can see I'm struggling. Releasing this album and, in particular that song, has allowed me to let everything go and feel a little.

I'm still receiving messages today. We played Macmillan Festival on Saturday, a festival I hold particularly close to me, and we were receiving compliments and praise whilst there too. We got played on Kerrang! Radio last week, and Alex Baker was very complimentary towards us. We're in this months issue of Rock Sound. A lot of things are happening at the minute and my brain and body don't really know what to do with it all. I can't explain what I've been feeling for these last few days in any way other than overwhelming. It really has been. I just expected a few "hey the album is cool" from some friends, but what we've actually had has been much more than that, and I honestly can't say thank you enough. This band over the last few months has been incredibly difficult to be a part of. There have been a lot of internal struggles that you haven't seen, a lot of arguments and disagreements, a lot of stress, loss of drive, frustration, depression. But everything we've heard, read and seen since the release has made everything worth it, and in all honesty it's probably saved us. So thank you.

Come and say hello to us at a show. We've got a brand new set to share with y'all.

Thank you for listening to us, thank you for watching us, thank you for talking to us, thank you for everything. Thank you for reading this.

D.S

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