Kentucky hardcore band Knocked Loose has recently released their second full length album A Different Shade of Blue, and fans could not be happier about it. This 12-track project incorporated many different themes and elements of past projects of theirs, such as the heavy guitarwork in their first 2016 album Laugh Tracks, and a range of vocal styles from their 2014 Pop Culture EP. This album was produced by Will Putney and released under Pure Noise Records. Each track on A Different Shade of Blue feels fully developed and well thought out, which made it my own personal favorite from their discography. The vocal styles of Bryan Garris, followed by the thrashing guitarwork of Cole Crutchfield and Isaac Hale, combined with the heavy bass and drum by Kevin Otten and Kevin "Pacsun" Kaine made this album stand out amongst the vast crowd of hardcore bands.
The album began with Garris screaming "Make me feel" on the first track entitled "Belleville". Although this was not my favorite song off the album, I felt that it did a great job of introducing the listener to what they can expect from the band on this project. My favorite part of this song was about a minute and a half in, and Garris screams the lyrics "I need you, to make me f***ing feel" at which point the band goes into one of the heaviest breakdowns on this album.
Following "Belleville" is one of the longer songs on this album "Trapped in the Grasp of a Memory". This track was really well written and produced, and incorporates a lot of really awesome lyrics like "I am trapped in the grasp/Of a memory/It crawls like water through the veins of the weak." This lyric also made me realize that Garris' lyrics often involved the use of the name of the song. About three minutes into this track everything got amped up to 11 with Garris' screams sounding absolutely abhorrent. The guitar breakdown also involved a nice rotation between heavy riffs, and panic chords. The track concluded with the sound of dripping water, and lead into track three "A Serpents Touch".
"A Serpents Touch" featured Emma Boster from Dying Wish and honestly it was one of the best features on a metal record that I'd ever heard. Garris' vocal style is unquestionably unique, however Boster is able to maintain its pattern and range, while adding her own little kick to it. After her verse of the song, an absolute monster of a breakdown follows and totally made the song stand out amongst every other Knocked Loose song the band had ever created. This was my favorite song on the album and each time I finished listening to it, I had to replay it just to hear Boster's feature one more time.
The only songs I didn't enjoy on this album were "By the Grave" and "In the Walls" because I felt that they sounded too similar to what was already on the album. However, I thought it was really cool that the band incorporated a sample from the psychological-horror video game P.T. at the end of "In the Walls". The videogame developed by Kojima Productions with the addition of film director Guillermo del Toro, was based on escaping a haunted house. The sample Knocked Loose uses was a radio broadcast in the game, announcing that a husband/father had murdered his family and was found afterwards, sitting in his car listening to the radio.
The remainder of the songs on the second half of the album; "Guided By the Moon", "Mistakes like Fractures", "Forget Your Name" which featured Keith Buckley from the hardcore band Every Time I Die, "Road 23", "…And Still I Wander South", "Denied By Fate", and "Misguided Son" were absolutely flawless. They each roll into one another with a very fast pace, making me crave more like a savage animal. It was absolutely thrilling to hear Kathie Bates' voice from the Stephen King book/movie Misery in "Road 23", and Keith Buckley's vocals on "Forget Your Name". Buckley's hardcore vocals sounded excellent paired with Garris' high pitched screams of "I will forget your name". Further, Gariss' vocals sounded like the devil himself in the song "Misguided Son" and I was left wondering what the hell I had just listened to.
This album was a thrill and an absolute pleasure to listen to. During the entire 38-minute run time the band managed to refine, and perfect their hardcore sound in A Different Shade of Blue and it was reflected by how well developed each song was. Overall this album received an 8.5 out of 10 and I see nothing but good things in this band's future. At the time of print, you can still grab this album on vinyl at their website and I strongly recommend that you do.
