While She Sleeps
Brainwashed (2015)
Track Listing
1. The Divide
2. New World Torture
3. Your Evolution
4. Brainwashed
5. We Are Alive at Night
6. Our Legacy
7. Four Walls
8. Torment
9. Kangaezu Ni
10. Life in Tension
11. Trophies of Violence
12. No Sides, No Enemies
13. The Woods
14. Method in Madness
15. Modern Minds
3 words: Aggressive, Oppressed, Tasteful
Overall
This album is the hidden gem of English Hardcore.
While She Sleeps perfectly pairs Hardcore aggressive riffs with tasteful Metalcore leads on top--All while still maintaining the catchiness of Hard Rock which will have you screaming the lyrics after your first listen. You will thank me in advance if you pick this one up. The vocals stay true to original 90's Hardcore. All the vocals are screamed however surprisingly clear. This album is everything but generic despite coming from a genre known for producing such bands. It's like someone took all the good elements of Hardcore and Metalcore, threw them into a blender, and seasoned them with bits of American Hard Rock. This genius fusion makes this album stand out from the rest. If the next album is anything like this one,
While She Sleeps will definitely be a band to keep your eye on.
Best Tracks:
No Sides, No Enemies
Four Walls
Trophies of Violence
Honorable Mention:
Life in Tension: This song is noticeably Poppier than all of the other songs on the album (other than the piano dominated album closer,
Modern Minds). This is definitely the catchiest song on the album. Coming in at Track 10, the leads on this song are just as catchy as the lyrics. Could this be a direction
While She Sleeps might look into for future albums?
If you like: Bring Me The Horizon, Avenged Sevenfold (Waking the Fallen era)
Associated Genres: #MelodicHardcore, #Metalcore, #Hard Rock
Musically
This is a band where every member truly shines. Without doubt, Every member is an above average musician.
Vocals: The Screams are always solid, full, and easily understood. You don't come by these types of screams often. The very few cleans the album has are just as up to par. Lyrically
While She Sleeps establishes an atmosphere of unity and fighting against oppression, which makes for amazing crowd interaction.
Guitars: Both Guitarist are EQUALLY as talented. This is not your typical lead guitar dominated band. The riffs are creative and aggressive, while the leads are tasteful and not overbearing. Every note and chord from the guitar section has a purpose and helps establish the mood of the song.
Bass: Low, solid, and tight. The perfect rock bass. The bass section holds the insane rhythms, standing strong and attached even in the most technical sections.
Drums: The drums are the bread and butter of While She Sleeps. The amount of grooves the drums provide is unreal. The drums can go from standard 4/4 rock drums to insane thrash metal blast beats in a matter of seconds. There are constant meter changes, along with many areas of intense syncopation. Just when you think you're got the drums figured out you are hit again with another tasteful meter change.
Secret Weapon: Drums
While She Sleeps would be nothing without the constant grooves they establish. Though, The skill of the rest of the band are what really provide a platform for the drums to shine-- And shine is exactly what they do!
While She Sleeps would seriously suffer if they were to ever lose any member of their current lineup, but their biggest loss would be their drummer. Even though the drummer is the secret weapon of this band, musically the rest of the members are not anything to sneeze at.
While She Sleeps recognize that the drums are a driving element of their signature sound and provide an outlet to showcase their amazing drums.
Final Analysis
9.2/10
Brainwashed is the perfect album to break into the Rock scene. It's Heavy, Melodic, Oppression Themed, and embodies everything that Rock music stands for. It's something Rock music hasn't seen in a long time. We will surely see While She Sleeps slowly gain well deserved popularity.