Theory Of A Deadman’s long awaited follow up to 2008’s Platinum selling Scars And Souvenirs has finally been unleashed unto the world. It’s been a long time coming, but worth the wait. The album is delivered with style and ease, with that trademark Theory power that really packs the punch. Indeed, this album isn’t for the faint-hearted; it’s a straight up, no nonsense, classic rock ‘n’ roll album that’s designed to be played loud. Kicking the album off is the rocking hillbilly anthem Lowlife. With the comical, jokey banter, it’s nice to see the band exploring their fun side lyrically, and with a melody that’s so dang catchy listeners will find they’re already hooked by the opening of track two. Songs Bitch Came Back and The Truth Is.. are the most stand out tracks on the album purely for their hilarity. Lead singer, Tyler Connelly, clearly had a bone to pick with somebody as he unleashes two power, angst ridden anthems, with lyrics so inundated with vengeance and hate you kind of feel sorry for the person who might be on the receiving end. As he bellows through the lines “no matter what I do somehow it’s always my fault. She says I must be cheating ‘cause I turned off my phone, but that’s the only frickin’ way she’ll leave me alone” it seems he’s still having relationship problems, much like in the previous album Scars And Souvenirs – either that or someone really loves to give him a hard time. But you have to admire his no-holds-barred attitude, which has sent him coming out all guns blazing: he’s got something to say, and he’s damn well going to say it.
Delivered with a similar vehemence, Gentlemen keeps the fire alive and the party rocking, whilst the softer, ballad numbers Hurricane and Head Above Water are interweaved allowing Tyler to calm down. A lot of the slower anthems on the album are very similar to songs from the band back catalogue, which is slightly disappointing in that the band haven’t stretched themselves to take bigger risks. The album also closes in rather a downbeat, lacklustre manner, which is a shame since it got off to such a flying start, yet it seems to run out of steam by the end failing to recapture that vigour of earlier tracks.
With the irresistible lyrical hooks, and the pure power of the guitars, Theory Of A Deadman are sure to get any listener rocking. This album certainly has a lot of clout. It’s extremely well produced, and far from dull as the band seemed to have included every instrument under the sun, as well as some cheeky little sound effects serving to give songs that extra bit of spark. It’s one big hoedown, packed full of straight-talking crowd pleasing anthems that wouldn’t be ill-fitting in a stadium setting. The Truth Is… it’s a beast of an album.
**As seen in The Motion Online**
**As seen in The Motion Online**
