Hey guys, you’ve heard me complain and brag about the RHCP concert, you know the dates changed on Eddie Vedder’s tour, Jim Marshall died at 88, and Shinedown is making a huge success. However, through all we have been through, you still don’t know my opinion on Stick To Your Guns’ new album: Diamond. I figured we needed to fix that. So I took the courtesy in doing so and without further ado, I bring forth MY OWN OPINION.
The CD starts off with the song “Diamond” which incorporates a quote from Jiddu Krishnamurti, not Mahatma Gandhi at the beginning. I feel as if diamond brings a more upbeat-getting-ready-for-the-fight kind of feel. The drums at the beginning get me hooked. If you imagine a UFC fighter walking slowly to the octagon as if he was fighting for everything he owned and to save his true love as you listen to the drums and guitar riff, you would understand what I mean. The vocals are pretty good, Jesse Barnett sounds a bit like Jake Luhrs from August Burns Red.
On to “Against Them All”. Some people say this album strays from the positivity of “The Hope Division” or “Comes from the Heart” but in this song they sing “We don’t need them, it’s forever us against them all”, talking about how some people treat you as an outcast, and bully you, etc. and the message they are trying to get across is that we don’t need people like them in our lives, so it is forever us against them all. The clean vocals are brought out by the choir type singing and the transitions between riffs are smooth, again visiting the thought of an uplifting sound, this is great workout music.
Number three on this album is “Such Pain”. This song reminds me of a Throwdown type song. And again I think people are getting the wrong idea with the positivity they enjoyed so much inpast albums. “the only enemy is me” is screamed out at the end of the song, which is true. I like the suspenseful part at the beginning while the quote was playing leading into the heavy fast-tempo middle, and the transition into the singing, then back into the breakdown was executed with little flaw.
On to the next with “The Bond”. I conjure up a feeling of being able to go through an entire workout with this CD. The first two songs are “uplifters” and the next two are fast paced. The drums are amazing in the beginning and go so well with the guitar riffs.
Song five on Diamond is “We Still Believe”. I’ve heard from people all over that this song has a Rise Against inspiration behind it, and I can understand where they are coming from. Jesse sings more than he screams, but the breakdowns are what keep them separate from other, more alternative bands such as Rise Against. I actually like the inspirational sense this song gives.
The sixth entry on this collaboration of sounds and voices is called “Ring Loud (Last Hope)” I really enjoy listening to the calm, melodic part in the beginning and the transition to the heavier stuff, and the switch between the melodies and hardcore sounds. I think they did a great job on this song. “We may fall but we will carry on”
Number seven is “Empty Hands”. The first thing I want to bring to your attention is that these guys are a Christian band and they use the word f*ck. Bringing me back to the throwdown style. If you listen to the lyrics in “Forever” by Throwdown, you will see that it is upbeat, angry, yet positive. Exactly what STYG is displaying in this song.
Eight is “Beyond The Sun”. The little drum fill intro was kind of neat, I think if they wanted to bring on a calm-to-heavy song, they should have put guitar work or used more intense double bass oriented drum work. I really find pleasure in the clean vocals after the first verse, well done. The anger in this song can be felt through the music, which I find to be a good companion in dealing with anger. And the little speech at the end is pretty meaningful.
The Ninth song on this album is “Life in a Box”. Another great workout song, but I feel as if they could have used a deep growl behind Jesse’s screams in some parts. That is all.
“Bringing You Down” comes in as number ten, I can’t say that I like the vocal work on this song. In my honest opinion I think they are making it deeper in the wrong spots and trying to hard to make the clean vocals as hard as possible when they should be more melodic. I do like the lyrics, again revolutionizing the Christian world of metal.
“D(I Am)ond” is song eleven. It is a more lyrical version of the first song “Diamond” without the quote from Jiddu.
“Forever more than just surviving. This is my life and this life is my diamond”
And the last song is “Built Upon the Sand”. It is probably one of the best songs lyrically, musically, and emotionally. All around great and the use of the layered synth pads is cool.
SO all in all, compared to their other work on previous albums, this CD is not the best. Individually all the songs are good, but when you compare this to their other master pieces, it just doesn’t cut it. It is entirely too short and not comparable to the albums prior. Good songs though.
Well guys, it was great being able to state my opinion on these songs, I hope you enjoyed my breakdown of Stick to Your Guns new album Diamond. Do me a favor until Friday and keep the music turned up, and your neighbors pissed.
-Zachary