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Solid Hardcore that sometimes stray from the Hatebreed formula.-
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| Jasta: Jasta |
Hardcore, Metalcore
eOne Records
July 26th, 2011
- Walk That Path Alone - 2:17
- Mourn the Illusion - 3:15
- Screams from the Sanctuary - 3:05
- Nothing They Say - 4:01
- Anthem of the Freedom Fighter - 3:42
- Something You Should Know (ft. Phil Labonte of All That Remains) - 2:53
- Set You Adrift - 3:23
- Enslaved, Dead or Depraved (ft. Randy Blythe of Lamb of God) - 3:05
- With a Resounding Voice (ft. Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying) - 3:05
- The Fearless Must Endure (ft. Zakk Wyld of Black Label Society) - 3:14
- Heart of a Warrior (ft. Mike Vallely) - 1:50
- Death Bestowed (ft. Mark Morton of Lamb of God) - 3:33
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| Review Information |
Release length: 37:23
Review posted on July 25th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Jasta (2011)
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| Review |
Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed sets out into solo territory with his self-titled project, Jasta. Signing to eOne Music, this man who has proven to be an important figure in the Hardcore world puts together an album of twelve tracks that show off more then just what he is capable of in Hatebreed. With that, Jasta becomes more of an experimental release that journeys into a Metalcore sound, as well as into more Melodic Death Metal territory as well. Along the way, some of his friends from bands like Lamb of God and All That Remains pop in for guest spots to help solidify the self-titled debut album, Jasta. But, does this album really prove the ambition and talen this prominant voice of Hardcore has had festering, waiting for some kind of outlet?
Of course, since eOne Music is a more prominant record label, the quality of the album is a much higher one. The recording has a pretty strong clear sound to it that pushes the heavy distortion of the guitar well to capture the "-core" attitude that is brought into each song despite the variation of the style. The drums are all at the right volume levels, and the bass is pretty prominant in the recording, really helping to keep the music heavy and deep, sometimes even crushing depending on the sound the band is going for. The guitars for the most part sound like your traditional Hatebreed Hardcore approach, but have a good amount of distortion on them to make them sound heavy without having a sound that could be defined to one specific approach to the "-core" style and works well with all the different variations that are brought into the mix on the recording. Of course the vocals are mostly screaming, and any fan of Jamey Jasta in the first place will know what to expect, which is just screaming loudly into the microphone and trying to match the music. While this is done well in the regular vocals and gang chants, there are also moments of clean singing that will really take the listen back a bit, and are done very well and on key with the rest of the music. The vocals are also louder in the mix, but not enough to drown out any of the instruments, just in the same manner the instruments won't drown one another out.
Jasta starts off as your traditional Hardcore release with "Walk That Path". The song clearly takes from Jamey's time with Hatebreed, and it clearly makes a dominant presence in many of the tracks of the release. The song is a little more then two minutes, and it's just a song full of two-step Hardcore intensity with a decent breakdown at the end to sum it all up. There's nothing that can really be said other then it's a good song, though nothing mind blowing or awe-inspiring. There's no real atmosphere to this track either, but it does establish a general idea of what to expect on the album. "Mourn the Illusion" is more where the album changes things up a bit, having a bit of a Melodic Death Metal meets Metalcore sound to it. There is some clean singing to it for the chorus and a rougher variation to the main lyrics being performed as well. There's a bit somber atmosphere to this one, but it doesn't really follow through the release other then on some of the other slower more melodic tracks.
This becomes the general standard of the album. Many of the songs on here are good, there's no denying that, but there's usually not many songs that will make you stop what you're doing and pay attention. "Screams from the Sanctuary" really is the first song off the album that will genuinely hook the listener, and it's mostly due to the stronger Hardcore presence with a more hook driven Metalcore chorus. This leads to a highly infectious song that offers attitude and comfort at the same time through screaming vocals and abrasive Hardcore and lighter melody and clean singing for the chorus. It's not a formula abused on the album, which is another huge plus for Jasta, so it's comforting to hear this and have the final product be so catchy without really losing that rougher, ballsier edge to it. "Anthem of the Freedom Fighter" is another track that is worth taking notice of. The song itself isn't the most spectacular, but it just has that commanding Hardcore authority to it with some more abrasive sounding vocals and gang chants that really makes it stand out on the release. The heavier sound and slow yet steady pace really helps to make the track catchy as well, and you'll find yourself bobbing your head along to the rhythm of the track from start to end. However, Jasta does have it's downfalls which come in the form of a less then original sound. For instance, "Nothing They Say" doesn't quite sound too original or even unique for this recording, and "Set You Adrift" is about the same. The lighter melodic approach and way the vocals are handled has a strong Five Finger Death Punch sound to it that fans of that group will immediately pick up on at the start of the track. But for the most part, the songs that don't have guests on them and still solid recordings.
The last half of the album, aside one oddly placed non-guest track, seem to all have guest appearances from somebody, and they range from a heavy impact, to a phoned in performance that sounds so out of place and useless it would have been best kept with Jamey Jasta only. "Something You Should Know", which features Phil Labonte of All That Remains sounds good musically but vocally sounds horrible, as if there was no real energy or enthusiasm to even record the vocals on it. It sounds like Jamey is handling the main vocals, and there is only a few lines being performed once by Phil during the song, making it the most pointless guest spot all together. However, with "Enslaved, Dead or Depraved", things start to pick back up. This track features vocalist Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, and it's an interesting performance with vocals that seem to be more of a failed guttural then anything, but work for the more intense song and sound good against Jamey's more abrasive mid-range screams. "With a Resounding Voice" definitely rings through harder, and features another brief guest vocal spot with Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying, but the music is a little different and has more of a Sepultura groove and atmosphere to it. This atmospheric change also occurs during "The Fearless Must Endure", which has Zakk Wylde involved, and it clearly shows with the more dirty Hard Rock sound he's known to make, and the clean vocals on this, unlike "Nothing They Say" are very energetic and work well with the catchier, upbeat track and a solid performance from Zakk himself. Skateboarder Mike Vallely makes an appearance on here with a more NYC-style vocal approach to "Heart of a Warrior", which has that more commanding vibe you hear on "Anthem of the Freedom Fighter", just not as catchy, but still a very strong track with a better guest performance then Phil Labonte's on "Something You Should Know". All of this ends with "Death Bestowed" featuring Mark Morton of Lamb of God who brings in some guitar work that really makes the track punishing with a slight Crossover Thrash twist, closing the album out perfectly with an intensity many other tracks fail to reach, and a soul crushing breakdown that wraps everything up nicely in a manner that will make you want to mosh or dance where you stand.
While there are some promising guest spots on this release, some of them are just not that great, and it can be felt throughout the whole song. However, some of these make up the better tracks of the album, like "With a Resounding Voice" and on. The non-guest tracks vary greatly from traditional Jamey Jasta-style material, to some more experimental material that either sounds great, or comes off a bit too much like Five Finger Death Punch. Overall though, it's a solid album. There's plenty of hard hitting Hardcore tracks on here to keep those fans happy, while Jamey tries to branch out and experiment a bit more then just releasing a Hatebreed album without Hatebreed, and for that it makes for a very interesting listen in itself. Though there's a few songs holding the album back more then the traditional Hardcore tracks that are solid but not jaw dropping in any real sense, there's plenty of solid cuts on Jasta that are well worth taking the time out to experience, especially if you are a fan of Jasta's work in the past.
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