Rescue comes in three different versions. The standard version contains thirteen songs. The CD version contains the standard thirteen songs as well as three demos, two acoustics and a bonus song. The last version is the iTunes/Australian version which contains a piano version of Forget your Heart.
1) Burning Hearts-
Burning Hearts is the first song on the album and the introduction incorporates older musical ideas while adding a fresh take on the vocals. The music puts heavy emphasis on key parts of the vocal line. The rhythm almost feels like a pulse at times, really pulling everything together. This should definitely be a single as it would show off the bands true potential and creativity.
2) Darling Harbour-
Darling Harbour starts off slow, with three seperate vocals parts in unison. It creates a nice harmony. The vocals are excellent on this song, but the music in the beginning is slow and dull. However, as you listen on it builds and is much better than in the beginning. The guitar riffs in the chorus sound deep and squeaky clean which is a testament to the production on this song as well as how great the song is considering I listened to everything via MP3.
3) Forget Your Heart-
Forget your Heart starts off with a non-traditional scale. Which is nice to see coming from a band of this genre. Smooth transitions help differentiate the vocal patterns. There is also a chorus underneath the main vocals which gives them a feeling of depth. The music is rich and the vocals are sung to the point of screaming, toeing the line, but never crossing it. Near the end though, the vocals are screamed.
4) Good Luck with your Lives-
The music in the introduction is lame, except for the walking bass line. The music sounds thin and almost "tinny". After the introduction, the music widens and feels more reminiscent of what fans come to expect from Silverstein. The introduction finds its way throughout the song, so if I had one complaint that would be it. The vocals seem to be the highlight of this song, with most of the music being subtle. The music then thickens and creates a sense of envelopment which this song needed from the start. The first breakdown has a neat guitar riff that is slow, but forceful. It's melody driven, rather than technically challenging. The last chrous adds a broader musical sense that make this song way better. The screaming at the very end is very clean and adds to the tenacity of the song.
5) In Memory of-
In Memory of starts of with a twangy guitar solo. I thought it was a really cool idea to bend the pitches. It gives the song a slower, more emotional appeal. The vocals are top notch on this song; the music adds a sense of syncopation. There are several different melodic lines all at the same time, flowing throughout the song. The guitar line during the breakdown reminds me of how the guitars sound in some of the band Rush's songs. The soung builds to an emotional release in the way of screaming and then resolves by moving the vocals back to being sung. This song is very emotional, especially considering the subject matter. The vocals are harmonzied exceptionally well and is mixed with the music superbly.
6) Intervention-
Intervention is very technical, with screamed vocals from the start. Its as if the theme is portrayed in the first minute of the song. This is a very powerful and fast song. Silverstein incorporates a new type of breakdown for them, but one that is typical in the metalcore genre. it was short, but it was a nice change of pace and a surprising inclusion. The guitar melodies in this song are amazing and transition from line to line quite well. The guitar solo during the second breakdown is ludicrously fast. It adds to the zeniths and the bottoms of the vocal line. One of my favorite parts of this song is the combination of singing and screaming concurrently.
7) Live to Kill-
Live to kill begins with a vocal solo with guitar feedback in the background. It then moves into a slower form, with the vocals transitioning between clean and rough lines. The chorus is screamed while the other stanzas are sung. The drums keep the song seperated, which is important as there are two or three moving lines all at the same time. The chorus is very emotional. The breakdown is slower, highlighting the theme of the song saying "all we want is war".
8) Medication-
Medication has a deeper set of guitars, overlaid with a single harmonic line. It almost sounds like older Silverstein, with a more mainstream set of vocals. The key signature of the song was a good choice. The guitar riffs are pleaseing to the ear. The breakdown is quite technical, but the transitions from accidental to accidental are done quite well. The highlight of the breakdown is the vocal and guitar melody combination. They move together and they do it well. It seems to resolve, slowing the song and adding more guitar parts, then out of nowhere comes vocal pitch bends in the vocals! The song continues to slow, building the vocals up and using three vocal lines overlain on one another. Lastly there are three different sets of lyrics at once, which is by far my favorite part of this song.
9) Replace You-
Replace you is musically punk sounding, but with a hint of pop-punk guitar harmonies. The vocals are clean, crisp and Silverstein in the traditional sense. The chorus is very different from every song so far. This song is such an amzing song. It will demand your attention and drag you in. Everything about this song screams "put me on the radio". If Silverstein had to choose a song to go mainstream with, this would be it. This is a song that people from many different walks of life who enjoy rock music can enjoy. This should also be a single, because it is by far the best song on the album. The musical transitions are light and subtle, allowing the vocals to direct the melodic lines. Some of my favorite parts are when he bends the pitches as he sings. I think it is a neat idea that not a lot of rock bands do.
10) Sacrifice-
Sacrifice gets off hard and in your face from the first second it plays. The vocals alternate between singing and screaming. It's almost an alliteration between someone who is torn between two decisions or two worlds. The screaming parts are very emotional and almost impulsive, while the sung versions are almost like the singers conscious. The breakdown is very jagged. It continues the screaming theme building into an underlain guitar solo. It seems as if the "conscious" is winning until the bitter end where the last verse is sung and screamed in unison.
11) Texas Mickey-
Texas Mickey starts off with an arpeggioed guitar with a hint of wah-wah. Then the vocals chime in leading the transitions with even more pitch bends. The theme seems to switch in this song, where the conscious is the sung part and seems to be the "thoughts" of Shane. Anthony Raneri of Bayside makes a guest appearance on this song. It was a nice touch and Anthony's vocals on this song were by far the best vocals he's done to date (though I think they just had a new album come out recently).
12) The Artist-
The Artist is intense right from the get-go. This is the hardest song on the album. It's so intense that even the backing vocals are screamed. There are several mini-breakdowns and they are well-placed. The drums seem to drive the beat while the music flowed around the rhythm-based harmony. As the song progresses, it gets harder with sung parts sprinkled in here and there. One of my favorite parts is when there is a "church chorus" with a fluid guitar riff overlaid by two other moving musical lines. This song is by far the darkest on the album, maybe even darker than any other Silverstein song. The ending almost puts you into a trance until the main chorus at the end.
Overall-
I loved this album. The production quality on it was very high. There were a ton of melodic lines and all the songs were unique and didn't blend together, even though they fit a central theme. It is one of the few albums that I enjoyed every song, though it wasn't without a few problems that I noted above. This a slight deviation from Silverstein's traditional albums. I would guess that the new label has given them a slightly different direction, while keeping it the "Silverstein Way". There wasn't a lot of slow songs on the album, but that is a non-issue. Fans of Silverstein will love this album and those who are just starting to listen to them are coming in at a great time. This is by far the best album Silverstein has made to date and I look forward to their future releases.
4.2 out of 5
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