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The Veer Union Closed Out 2024 Solidly With ‘Welcome To Dystopia’

Making a year ender list is never an easy task for a critic at any level.  That is because at some point, a critic has to turn in those annual “Best of” lists to various individuals.  The result, though is that some presentations do end up missing the boat so to speak.  This year, a number of albums faced that issue, one of those being hard rock band The Veer Union’s latest album, Welcome to Dystopia.  Released Dec. 27, the 8-song record came roughly two years after its then latest album, Manifestations.  It proves an interesting new offering from the band in part because of its musical arrangements, which will be addressed shortly.  The lyrical themes featured alongside that musical content makes for its own interest and will be examined a little later.  The record’s production rounds out its most important elements and will also be discussed later.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the album.  All things considered they make Welcome to Dystopia a record that despite being released so late in the year, deserved its own spot on any critic’s list of 2024’s top new hard rock and metal albums.

Welcome to Dystopia, the latest album from The Veer Union, is a strong new offering from the band.  The record’s appeal comes in part through its featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements are of note because in comparison to most of the band’s catalog, it involves a much more prominent use of electronics.  It also involves much more aggression at points.  Where the band’s songs have largely been melodic hard rock style compositions a la Sevendust, this record’s arrangements sees a continued growth that started on its predecessor.  Case in point is the early entry, ‘Shades of Grey.’  The keyboard line that opens the arrangement and continues throughout gives the song more body and more of that electronic lean.  It really gives the arrangement an identity separate from much of the band’s works.

On another note, the album’s title track features an arrangement whose keyboard line and overall instrumentation that really leans more in the direction of classic Linkin Park than Sevendust.  That is thanks to the production work.

On yet another note, ‘Empirical,’ which is one of the album’s singles, exhibits some of that increased heaviness from the instrumentation.  Even front man Crispin Earl delivers some heavier vocals at points through the song.  It retains the classic Veer Union sound but clearly also shows that growth, especially in the song’s bridge.  That heavy breakdown is something the band has done rarely in its existing catalog if at all.  To that end, here is another example of the role played by the musical arrangements featured in Welcome to Dystopia.

The musical arrangements featured in Welcome to Dystopia are only part of the record’s interest.  Its companion lyrical content plays its own important part to the presentation.  That is because they take on some topics that are right in the real world and are quickly leading the world into a potential dystopian state.  Case in point are the album’s singles, ‘Empirical’ and ‘Is This How It Ends?’.  Both songs tackle artificial intelligence and where it is taking the human race.  ‘The Underground’ stays somewhat on that track, this time tackling corrupt governments and how they control the masses.  Earl sings of that subject here, “In the days of here and now/We’ve been made to make no sound/In the future freedom’s found/Only in the underground/We’ll paint the walls with dreams of fire/Fuel the hope that won’t expire/We’re shallow breathing/While we fight the ones without a face/We’re hoping for healing/We’re reaching out for just a taste/The storm is coming/Without a care of lives/It takes/’Cause we are becoming the ones/They are trying to erase.”  This is that outright protest against the faceless powers that be, that hold people down.

The dystopian themes continue in different ways at points throughout the album.  When those other ways are considered along with what has been examined here, the whole makes clearer the importance of the lyrical content to the album’s presentation.  It is largely a match to the album’s title.

The lyrical and musical content presented throughout Welcome to Dystopia goes a long way toward making the album worth hearing.  It is just part of what ensures the record’s engagement and entertainment, too.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation.  Considering the heaviness and depth of the arrangements, the utmost attention had to be paid to each track to ensure no one track was muddied down.  Luckily that attention was given to each arrangement.  No one musician’s part overpowers that of his band mates at any point.  The result is the heaviness and depth that the band brings in each song.  The positive aesthetic that stems from this puts the finishing touch to the record.  When that positive impact is considered alongside the album’s overall content, the whole therein makes the record a presentation that, had it been released a little earlier in 2024, definitely would have made any critic’s list of the year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.

Welcome to Dystopia, the latest album from The Veer Union, is a strong new offering from the band and an equally strong way for the hard rock and metal community to have closed out 2024.  It is just too bad that it was released so late in the year, considering most critics had likely turned in their year ender lists before this record dropped.  Either way, it proves to be a candidate for that “Best of” list.  That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements offer listeners plenty of familiarity while also showing some growth.  The lyrical themes that accompany that musical content adds to the record’s appeal because of its familiarity and accessibility.  It is certain to connect and resonate with audiences.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation.  It ensures full depth and heaviness in each song with the balance of the vocals and instrumentals.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the album.  All things considered, they make Welcome to Dystopia the last great hard rock and metal album of2024.

Welcome to Dystopia is available now.  More information on the album is available along with all of The Veer Union’s latest news at:

Websitehttps://theveerunion.net

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/theveerunion

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/theveerunion

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