It’s been 5 years since the last time the US metalcore bunch, WE CAME AS ROMANS, released a studio album. Their 2017 outing “Cold Like War” made me prick my ears at the time, in spite of the fact that metalcore is not exactly my go-to genre when it comes to metal. That particular effort has not been touted as their milestone for nothing; it was perhaps the very reason why these young ruffians were suddenly the rising stars of American metalcore. Then, by a stroke of bad luck and illicit drugs, in 2018, the band’s co-vocalist Kyle Pavone passed away, aged 28, and I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking that I would never hear from this bunch again. Fortunately, I was wrong. On October 14th, 2022, WE CAME AS ROMANS released their sixth studio album, “Darkbloom,” via Sharptone and it is quite a jubilant journey through darkness. The heavy road that this band, no doubt, has had to traverse over the past 4 years could have resulted in a far more brutal and raw endeavor but I’m kind of glad they chose not to step too far away from their comfort zone – that is the sublime mixture of the radio-friendly pop aesthetics of, say, LINKIN PARK and BRING ME THE HORIZON, and the occasional nod towards deathcore and glitchy electronica. The overarching theme of grief is conveyed predominantly by the lyrics, with the sentiment being that even at our darkest hour, there is still potential to push through to a brighter future. In a way, the undercurrent of resilience, of remaining positive, confirms the words of American author Brené Brown, “The dark does not destroy the light: it defines it.”
The album opens with the title track, “Darkbloom,” which resonates quite strongly with the air of BRING ME THE HORIZON‘s 2015 album, “That’s the Spirit.” In fact, the whole album feels like some sort of sibling to that of those British metalcore rogues; despite the inherently dark themes, both albums have a positive undercurrent and layer the metalcore paradigm with distinct nuances of pop, indie rock, and cinematic flavor. It becomes quite apparent right from the go that these Michigan dudes aren’t set out to break the band’s old blueprint, not too radically, at least. Then again, there is an old saying that goes, “If it ain’t broken, why fix it?” Some of us would perhaps rather have witnessed the band step further from their comfort zone, although I have a feeling that these same individuals have a hard time coming to terms with the band’s radio-friendly sound, to begin with: deathcore breaks and singalong choruses, like, wtf?!
Yes, some of the songs on the album are markedly radio-friendly and poppy, with the single release, “One More Day,” being the best candidate, perhaps, for endless radio play. Despite the prominent piano, soft vocals, and poppy approach, the song’s lyrics pack a punch, ruminating about the frustrating task of trying to save someone from themselves. Knowing that Pavone died of an accidental overdose, the lyrics hit exceptionally hard, with lines such as, “I would’ve walked through your hell with you.” In fact, I reckon the impact is much harder in this sort of radio-pop setting than it would be in a full-mayhem metal context. Pulling on your heartstrings by playing with the contrasts is a subtle art – and these ruffians prove on this outing to be masters of this dark craft.
Of course, there are other emotions than grief strewn across the selection too. The listening session might prove a bit heavy otherwise. “Doublespeak,” for instance, is a massive maelstrom of pure hate and chopped-up riffs. Hatred is an emotion that obviously links to grief in a multitude of ways (anger is one of the stages of grief, after all). Here, this deathcore-flavored hate anthem stands out simply by being such an outburst of raw power. The glitchy electronics add a nice touch, almost as though implying a short circuit of sorts, which plays onto the song’s topic, deliberately or not.
The album ends with “Promise You,” which is a straight-up cinematic pop song, reminiscent of “Follow You” by BRING ME THE HORIZON. It is perhaps a little bit sugary way to bring things to closure, regardless of the fact that the album’s overarching theme is what it is. I would rather have chosen “Holding the Embers” to do the honors. Ballady as the song is, it packs a good deal more punch. Perhaps, lyrically, the song order, as it is now, offers a better sense of resolution – brings things to an end on a high note, so to speak.
By and large, the new WE CAME AS ROMANS album is a haunting account of devastating grief, delivered in the form of ten metalcore numbers layered with all sorts of flavors, from radio pop to glitchy nu-metal, singalong choruses and all. The fact that it sounds so easy to approach and catchy at times makes it an even more impressive endeavor. The band could have just as well called it quits in 2018. We should be glad they didn’t.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Darkbloom
- Plagued
- Black Hole
- Daggers
- Golden
- One More Day
- Doublespeak
- The Anchor
- Holding the Embers
- Promise You
Lineup
Joshua Moore – lead guitars, backing vocals
Dave Stephens – lead vocals, keyboards
Lou Cotton – rhythm guitars
Andy Glass – bass, backing vocals
David Puckett – drums, percussion
Label
Sharptone Records
