Late last month, up-and-coming hard rock outfit Saul released its sophomore album, This Is It…The End of Everything, ending a nearly three year wait for the record. The 13-song album is a presentation that fits in well among this year’s current crop of new hard rock and metal albums, as is proven in part through its featured musical arrangements. They will be addressed shortly. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical arrangements make for their own collective appeal here 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 is important in its own way to the whole of the record’s presentation. All things considered This Is It…The End of Everything proves itself to be a largely successful second outing for Saul and gives at least some hope for the band’s future.
This Is It…The End Of Everything, the sophomore album from Saul, is a presentation that ensures audiences it is in itself hardly the end of things for the up-and-coming hard rock act. Released July 28 through Spinefarm Records, the album shows at least part of its strength through its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements in question exhibit a blend of melodic hard rock and aggro-rock from one song to another. Audiences got an early taste of that approach through the album’s trio of singles, ‘Jack and Jill,’ ‘A Million Miles’ and ‘Tooth & Nail.’ The sound and style exhibited in those songs (and through the rest of the album’s entries) is easily comparable to works from the likes of fellow up-and-coming hard rock act Another Day Dawns and others of that ilk. One could even argue that in songs, such as ‘More of the Same,’ and ‘Jack and Jill,’ the arrangements are just as easily comparable to works from the likes of Breaking Benjamin, what with its brooding sound and style. To that end, the arrangements featured here are compositions that would be easy fits for any active rock radio programmer’s playlists. That is because they would ensure listeners’ maintained engagement and entertainment from one to the next.
The musical arrangements featured throughout Saul’s new 48-minute album are just part of what ensures the record’s appeal. The lyrical themes that accompany said content makes for its own share of interest. That is because the topics addressed through the themes are fully relatable and delivered in a fashion that makes them just as accessible. ‘A Million Miles,’ which is one of the album’s singles, takes on the familiar topic of social media and how it has actually caused more separation among people even though it “connects” us. Front man Blake Bedsaul said of the matter when the band released the single, “As a society, we’re so glued to our phones and social media. When we finally got out of quarantine, we personally needed to take a mental break from it. If you think about it, we don’t even have to talk anymore since communication happens online.” That instant communication has caused so much separation even within our own homes. The song’s subject going so far as to say, “I feel a million miles away” makes clear how social media has led to so many of us feeling so distant and disconnected because people pay so much more attention to – as Bedsaul noted – our screens than one another. Saul is hardly the only band to take on the negative impact of social media in society today, but even with that in mind, the message is still just as welcome as ever here.
Along with the role of social media, the band also takes on the equally familiar topic of broken relationships and in different ways throughout the album. One of the hardest hitting moments in which the theme is addressed comes early in the album’s run in the form of ‘New Low.’ In the case of this song, it is delivered seemingly from the vantage point of someone who has dealt with another person who is clearly toxic in his or her personality to the point that there is no more trying. This is inferred as the subject states late in the song, “I draw the line/Won’t watch you die/Do you think this is fair/So pull the pin/It’s the end/I won’t stop fighting to care.” This line is short and simple but speaks volumes. It comes across as the subject telling the other person he or she has reached that breaking point. He or she will not stop trying to care, but the point at which that other person has reached has caused the main subject to say enough is enough. Everyone knows or has known someone like that self-destructive personality and has, by connection, had to deal with said personality. To that end, it is another relatable and accessible theme that is sure to keep listeners engaged and entertained.
The matter of broken relationships in terms of more personal connections is also addressed, even more sharply in ‘Jack and Jill.’ In the case here, the story does not exactly end well for the pair after Jill treats Jack anything but well, divorcing him and kicking him out after their relationship soured. Jack got more than even, becoming homicidal as a result of what Jill did to him. The story is a pretty harsh tale that is rarely told in the bigger picture of songs about broken relationships. To that end, it is sure to resonate and be remembered by audiences in its own right. When this theme is considered along with the others examined here and along with those featured in the album’s other songs, the whole therein shows clearly why the record’s lyrical themes are just as important to the album’s appeal as the record’s musical arrangements.
The musical arrangements and lyrical themes featured throughout This Is It…The End of Everything form a relatively solid foundation for the album. They are not the only key elements in this record, though. The album’s production rounds out its most important elements. As noted already, the arrangements featured throughout the album are heavy works that blend some very heavy aggro-rock and melodic hard rock leanings from one to the next. That means that there is a lot of energy and sound in each arrangement. Thanks to those behind the boards, the instrumentation and vocals were expertly balanced in each song, ensuring that sound and energy gives audiences the fullest possible impact in each work. The richness in each arrangement in turn immerses listeners just as much as the record’s content. The result therein is a positive aesthetic that builds on the impact of said content. All things considered the album overall proves to be a largely successful new offering from Saul that proves this record is anything but the end for Saul, but only the next chapter in the band’s life.
This Is It…The End Of Everything is hardly the end for Saul. Rather, the band’s sophomore album is a strong new chapter in the band’s life. That is proven in part through the album’s musical arrangements. The arrangements are of note because the way in which they blend melodic hard rock and aggro-rock leanings from one to the next. The expert balance in those elements makes each arrangement an easy fit for any active rock radio programmer’s play list. The lyrical themes featured throughout the album are just as positive in that they are relatable and presented in a fully accessible fashion. The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole by ensuring a positive aesthetic to the whole. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation. All things considered they make This Is It…The End Of Everything another welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
This Is It…The End of Everything is available now through Spinefarm Records. More information on the album is available along with all of Saul’s latest news at:
Website: http://saulofficial.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/saulbandofficial
Twitter: http://twitter.com/saulband
