‘Not every change is an improvement’

Whether it is caused by the change in the line-up, or that the band already had the adjustments in mind before the alterations, is unknown to me. What is crystal clear though is that ‘Conviction’, the second album from The Crimson Armada, displays a different sound than on debut album ‘Guardians’. The band has clearly sought after a more extensive musical sound and many new influences on the new album come by.

The biggest change is found in the vocal parts. The screaming high and crushing low vocals are still present, but the spectrum has become much more extensive. The clean vocals that have been added (‘Forgive Me’, ‘You’ve Changed’, ‘Questioning God’) will not be after everyone’s liking. The vocal parts have furthermore been complemented with spoken sections (‘Composed Of Stone’). Where on their debut ‘Guardians’ melodic death and metal core were all over present, at ‘Conviction’ it is rather a mishmash of styles. Metal core still determines the main sound and a track like ‘Juggernaut’ reminds of the old sound, but overall it sounds a lot less raw and accessibility has gained considerably ground. Especially the way the synths determine the sound – and then at times a slight reference to Attack Attack! is inevitable – leaves you as listener at least a little confused behind. There’s nothing wrong with a band looking to expand their sound, but only mixing a few styles, as mainly has happened here, is not enough to stand out. And although most compositions are not badly composed, they are simply too generic; you have heard these kind of tracks from countless other bands before. The album is closed with the track ‘Worthy’; although the lyrics may be appealing, ending the album with a ballad only adds to the opaque musical direction the band has taken on this album.

And that is precisely the obstacle for me in this album. The band jumps from one thing to another and if that is something you just really like, you can have fun with the album. This musical bouncing ball can simply not convince me. I think the label ‘not every change is an improvement’ suits quite well here.

Track list:
Conviction
Juggernaut
Forigve Me
Composed Of Stone (featuring Andy Atkins of Plea Of Purging)
You’ve Changed
Napalm (featuring Levi Benton Of Miss May I)
Questioning God
Relief
Call To Arms
Soulcrusher
Worthy

Bandmembers:
Saud Ahmed – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, piano
Dan Hatfield – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Brandon McMaster – lead guitar, clean vocals
Jordan Matz – drums
Chris Yates – bass, backing vocals

Rating:
60/100

Weblinks: Myspace / Official website / Facebook

Reviewed by Patrick

(Below ‘The Serpent’s Tongue’ from their debutalbum)