I Prevail - True Power

 "True Power" is the 3rd album by American rock/metal outfit I Prevail. Although they were formed back in 2013, I have only just discovered this band in the past 2 months when they popped up on my Facebook promoting the single "Body bag" for this album.  They captured my attention on the first play with the sheer ferocity of the song, the twists and turns and the amazing delivery of the vocals.  I'm not really sure how it's taken so long for me to discover them as they seem to have built quite a following and have songs off previous albums which have had over 50 million plays on Spotify.  Also, even though they are American, they are doing headline tours in the UK playing 2000/3000 capacity venues.  So not quite arenas yet but still very decent sized venues.

With "True Power" I really feel it displays the great versatility and high standard of song writing of the band.  If you put Linkin Park and Slipknot in a blender it feels like out would pop, I Prevail.  They do have some songs with elements of rap but for the majority it feels like Chester Bennington and the heavier elements of Corey Taylors singing.  This in turn makes them unique and gives them plenty of creative options.  Creative options which they excelled at in "True Power".

The opening track "0:00" is a very brief instrumental before firing into the magnificent "There's Fear in Letting Go".  The balance between the two vocalists here works so well and towards the end of this song there is a brilliant use of temporary silence and then the song bursts back into life like a fountain being switched on.  The next song is "Body Bag" and previously mentioned opened the door for me getting into the band.  Such brilliant bursts of aggression and so many twists and turns.

My favourite songs off the album are probably "Bad things" and "Judgement Day".  "Bad things" has a great intro before turning up the velocity and then going into a mesmerising chorus.  "Judgment day" has more aggressive versus but again soaring choruses.  I think that's really the appeal about I Prevail, they have this aggression, but it is controlled, and the choruses are so catchy and memorable.  "Deep End" has that Mike Shinoda style rapping.  Here they take their foot off the gas a bit aggressive wise but still as catchy a chorus you'll find.  Last track "Doomed" sees them completely turn it down with a much more melodic track to finish off with.

Overall, this is a great album and I'm glad I found I Prevail.  I really think they have the potential to go far.  Although their influences are obvious, having those 2 vocalists really makes a massive difference to what they are capable of doing compared to what’s out there at the moment and long may that continue.

Muse - Will of the People

"Will of the People" is the 9th album by UK stadium rockers Muse.  This is the follow up to 2018's "Simulation Theory" which in all honesty I wasn't too impressed with.  And that's coming from someone who is big fan of most of their work. So much so this year I reviewed every studio album they have ever released.  But how would "Will of the people" fit in with the rest of their discography.

As the singles trickled out, I had mixed feelings.  "Won't stand down" I thought was Muse back to their best.   An all-out rocker with a huge chorus.  It really felt like Muse had put themselves back on the map.  Next single "Compliance" I wasn't as in to as it did feel a bit generic, but it has grown on me recently.  "Will of the people" is a great opening track and with that kind of dance groove wouldn't have been out of place on "Simulation Theory" and would certainly have improved the album.

"Liberation" and "Ghosts" see Bellamy back on the piano.  "Ghosts" is a great track and displays Bellamy's magical fingers at their best as well as his vocals.  "Liberation" does actually feel like a Queen song. Nothing wrong with that of course but may be a tad too close to a rip off.  "You make me feel like it's Halloween" sees them back in that groovy dance place like the self-titled track.  That's the thing with this album, even though there are many good songs on it.  It does feel like it jumps about a bit between slow and more rocky songs then dancy songs.  Instead of previous albums where there is often a direction of the overall album.  This one almost feels like they are trying to do a bit of everything and by doing this the album loses a certain cohesiveness.

I would say the best song on the album is "Kill or be Killed".  Amazingly for Muse this is the longest song on the album sitting at exactly 5 minutes which is unusual for them as usually there are many songs which go over that length.  But this track has a great riff which goes right through you.   I can't even say what the last track is as it's swear words, but I'll star it out "We are ****ing ****ed".  Quite controversial of Muse to have a song with swear words in it as this is not something they are known for and have been a radio friendly band in the past.  But maybe Taylor Swift had an influence here and opened the floodgates when she swore on her last album.  I can see both sides of why they would do this.  On the one hand you can see it from the perspective that this how people feel the world is going at the moment with all the wars and climate change.  Then there is the other perspective saying, well yes but you didn't have to point it out.  It's quite a short album closer and I think they were so focused on the lyrics of this song to really make a good tune out of it.

Overall though I would say this is an improvement on "Simulation Theory".  It's not their best as I feel they have made many more amazing albums which feel more like albums and are a lot more cohesive.  But at the same time, I don't think this album will be forgotten about as it still has many great tunes on it which can stand side by side with some of the great songs they have made.  They remain one of the top rock acts in the world and this album is not going to diminish that fact in anyway but well and truly sustain it.