ALBUM REVIEW: Unbreakable – New Years Day
One look at the members’ timeline of NEW YEARS DAY on Wikipedia and you’d be mistaken for thinking it was supposed to be on the page for GUNS N’ ROSES. The American rockers have gone through a plethora of musicians since their foundation, with vocalist Ash Costello the only constant member. However, guitarist Nikki Misery and bassist Frankie Sil have been alongside her for a significant amount of time and the lineup is now rounded out by guitarist Austin Ingerman and drummer James Renshaw. It’s this current incarnation that has recorded Unbreakable, the bands fourth full-length album that arrives at the end of this month via Century Media Records.
In the lead up to the album, Costello has been very assertive that Unbreakable moves away from the solemnity and despair of previous albums and is instead replaced with empowerment and positivity. She’ll be delighted to know that the nail has been very much hit on the head. Unbreakable is a shout of defiance from a band who are pushing forward to the next level in their career without any worries about what has come before them. The three singles that have seen the light of day have done much to hammer this home sooner, particularly Skeletons which could be the best song of their journey to date; the huge nu-metal bounce and monolithic chorus have to be heard to be believed. Come For Me, the album opener, combines MOTIONLESS IN WHITE-esque keys and electronics with a massive riff and Costello’s powerful voice, carrying it through brilliantly; Shut Up, meanwhile, incorporates darker pop overtones and a more sinister vibe, but loses none of its potency.
Of the other nine tracks, they follow the same pattern of spitting in the face of adversity on a lyrical front, especially the EVANESCENCE vibes of Done With You and the furious Break My Body, the latter of which will instil strength in anyone to carry on through the dark times in life. There’s also a couple of songs which, if given the chance, will rule rock radio airwaves for months to come: Missunderstood shows exactly why the band are opening for HALESTORM across UK arenas in the autumn because it could easily be a hit of Lizzy and co, with Sorry Not Sorry an unabashed ditty that could easily follow suit. It’s not just a full-out attack either: NEW YEARS DAY have also brought their guard down slightly on My Monsters and the title track, crafting songs with a raw, anthemic quality that will speak to the hearts of many. The cherry on the cake is the production – the band have parted ways with longtime producer Erik Ron, this time around joining forces with both Scott Stevens and Mitchell Marlow and the resulting sound is enough to make Unbreakable a joyous romp from start to finish.
Without question, this is NEW YEARS DAY’s strongest and most complete album to date, a truly excellent body of work that will do wonders to their upwards trajectory and ensure they’ll come onstage on that aforementioned tour in November to a throng of fans and huge reaction. Perhaps even more excitingly, however, is that you still feel they could top this next time around; the mind boggles.
Rating: 8/10
Unbreakable is set for release April 26th via Century Media Records.
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