A Life Once Lost “Ecstatic Trance” Album Review
A LIFE ONCE LOST
review by Shannah Tighe
@Shannuhxo
A LIFE ONCE LOST was formed in ’99 in the Philadelphia suburbs by Doug Sabolick (guitars) and Bob Meadows (vocals). The nascent band immediately forged a noisy, high-impact wall of sound combining dissonant, modern aggression with the hallmarks of traditional metal. Almost as soon as ALOL had songs, the band started cutting their teeth in the Philly-area DIY circuit playing alongside their peers in Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lamb of God, God Forbid, and more.
Available November 16
Tracklist
01 – Something Awful
02 – Gnawing Lisp
03 – Madness is God
04 – Miracle Worker
05 – Empty Form
06 – I am
07 – The Blues
08 – People Stare
09 – I See, I Hear
10 – I Sit ill
11 – Asteroid (Bonus cover)
After five years, lineup changes and being signed to a new label (Season of Mist) in early 2011, A Life Once Lost is back with a new album and some new influences. For fans of Lamb of God, Every Time I Die, and Strapping Young Lad. I have not listened to this band before (shame on me), but I’m excited to check out new music as always!
Something Awful is a pretty damn good song to start out the album with. It automatically greets you Meadows’ heavenly vocals. I’m in love with the guitars towards the middle of this song; eerie and literally, trance like. The accompanying guitar solo is also pretty sexy.
The title, Gnawing Lisp made me giggle a little bit but this song is no joke. It’s pretty awesome and also has a great guitar solo. The continuous riff from the intro plays in the back almost the whole time and I give it double thumbs up. The guitar solo is fantastic and definitely lets you listen to the album title (Ecstatic Trance) rather than saying it in their lyrics.
Madness is God has some awesome lyrics and Meadows’ faster speaking growls in this are so damn catchy. The almost 1 minute long dual guitar solos are intense and I recommend this song for aspiring guitarists to take notes on 😉
Miracle Worker has a pretty simple intro and definitely a groove like mini guitar solo in this song. This song doesn’t stick out too much to me and some of the riffs sound a bit like in the previous songs.
Empty Form is the longest on the album, 4 minutes and 21 seconds. The first minute and a half is all instrumental and then Meadows’ kicks in to put the finishing touches on this track. It’s probably one of my favorites on this album mainly because of the riffs.
I Am is a short, :46 second intermission. I don’t wanna spoil that awesome 46 seconds so you’ll have to go pick up a copy and listen to it 😉
The Blues has my absolute favorite intro on the album. Fading in, slowly. It’s doesn’t start out as the most heavy song. It’s definitely a bit calmer than the rest. I love the harmonies in this song with the beat of the drumming. It sounds gorgeous and is catchy; again, not the heaviest or fastest song on the album.
People Stare gets you back into their heaviness. It’s definitely a good song and their guitar solo with his underlying vocals in the last minute is the icing on the cake.
I See, I Hear has probably the most intoxicating intro on the album; once again, great lyrics. The vocals definitely remind me a bit of Randy Blythe’s but with Meadows’ personal touch, especially on the higher notes. I predict (because I’m Miss Chleo), that this will be one of the more popular songs on the album.
I Sit Ill has a bit different sounding guitar solo, but it’s well done. It ends a bit abruptly which kind of annoyed me at first because I was really getting into it.
Asteroid is pure badass. The vocals mixed with how awesome the drumming in this song, to me, is perfect. It starts out face paced automatically and the melody is pretty damn catchy. This song is pretty easy to get sucked into.
This review is a bit shorter when it comes to the song breakdown than most because I feel like everyone should go but it and hear it for themselves. I know people have been waiting years for this band to release new material and I think it’s safe to say that it’s worth the wait and I don’t want to spoil it! This album is cohesive and flows together well. They have their own touch and this album definitely brings a bit of competition for other 2012 metal releases.
If you’re in the US, you can pick up this album on October 22nd, available world wide on November 16th. If you dig it, check below to see if they’re coming to a city near you!
Tour Dates: A Life Once Lost’s U.S. Tour Dates:
• 10/18 Championship Bar Trenton, NJ
• 10/21 Mac’s Bar Lansing, MI
• 10/22 Cobra Lounge Chicago, IL
• 10/23 Station 4 St. Paul, MN
• 10/29 The Loch’s Tacoma, WA
• 10/30 El Corazon Seattle, WA
• 10/31 Rotture Portland, OR
• 11/01 The Sub Mission San Francisco, CA
• 11/02 Slidebar Fullerton, CA
• 11/03 Chaser’s Scottsdale, AZ
• 11/04 House of Rock El Paso, TX
• 11/05 Korova San Antonio, TX
• 11/06 Red 7 Austin, TX
• 11/08 The Masquerade Atlanta, GA
• 11/09 Tremont Music Hall Charlotte, NC
• 11/10 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA
• 11/11 Bogies Albany, NY
• 11/12 Webster Hall New York, NY
• 11/13 Great Scott Allston, MA
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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