Album Review: Saosin – Along The Shadow

Dissonance May 19, 2016 203 Comments 886 views 0 likes

Unless you become superstars (and even if you do), music isn’t the fame and fortune that TV and Hollywood has made it out to be. It’s a rough life for people who make up the band — whether it’s due to their diminishing drive for their craft or being away from family and friends with no money for a prolonged period of time, there is nothing easy about it. The aforementioned is one of the things that led to the past 7 years of radio silence for post hardcore fan favorites and mainstays Saosin. The band’s second vocalist, Cove Reber, seemed to lack the passion he had when he joined and was asked to leave. While there was behind the scenes activity, there was nothing at the forefront other than promises of new music being made and rumors of new vocalists, but nothing materialized. That is, until the return of their former vocalist Anthony Green in 2014. With the return of their original vocalist, the band set out to play shows, to test the waters and see if they were more than ready to make a full comeback. That full comeback came to fruition earlier this year with the signing to Epitaph Records and the announcement of their new album, Along The Shadow. With this album being their comeback album, the band faces the same problem others do: Do they still have it in them?

[tw-toggle title=”About Saosin”]
Genre: Post Hardcore
Label: Epitaph Records
Release: May 20, 2016
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
Purchase: iTunes | Physical
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When the album’s opener, “The Silver String”, was first teased, there were fears that the band was too similar to Green’s main project, Circa Survive. Those same fears seemed to immediately subside as soon as the song was fully released, and with listening to the album in full, the comparison starts to fade out and the realization that this is Saosin starts to enter the picture. It is important to note however, that this isn’t the same band that released the beloved EP Translating The Name, nor is it the same one that released the 2006 S/T album. Instead, Along The Shadow represents a Saosin that is not only an older band, but a deeply and thoughtfully matured one. One of the bigger desires for fans of bands that sort of “set the scene ablaze” and become pioneers is that they return to their roots and originally sound. While it’s important to capture the magic that they had created initially, it’s also important to realize that musicians grow just as fans do.

Saosin – “The Silver String”

Listen to the full album: http://bit.ly/1YmFs1n “The Silver String” by Saosin from the album ‘Along The Shadow,’ available now Order here: https://saosin.lnk.to/ATS Official Site: http://www.saosin.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saosin Twitter: https://twitter.com/saosin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saosinofficial/ Directed by Andrew Swartz wavehello.co

This harkens to the most impressive aspect of Along The Shadow, which is that Saosin isn’t trying to capture lightning in a bottle and replicating Translating The Name’s sound. What they have done is craft a sound that is what should be expected out of the band in today’s musical scene. Even with the departure of founding member and guitarist Justin Shekoski, the album doesn’t lack riffs and rhythm guitarist Beau Burchell manages to pick up where the band left off (along with his handling of the production). Songs like “Count Back From TEN” & “Illusion & Control” help deliver that idea even further with their hard-hitting riffs that bring back memories of their old sound while being relevant to today. Props need to be handed out to drummer Alex Rodriguez who’s playing throughout the album is top notch as the drums (as expected) are super hot within the overall album mix. In regard to Green’s contributions, he doesn’t skip a beat and it almost feels as if he never left. Along with the melodies that make him who he is, Anthony brings screaming back into the mix which help pack in more aggression into the tracks and help silence the unnecessary comparisons to Circa Survive.

Saosin – “Control and the Urge to Pray”

Listen to the full album: http://bit.ly/1YmFs1n “Control and the Urge to Pray” by Saosin from the album ‘Along The Shadow,’ available now Order here: https://saosin.lnk.to/ATS Official Site: http://www.saosin.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saosin Twitter: https://twitter.com/saosin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saosinofficial/ Directed by Andrew Swartz wavehello.co

A few years ago, the concept of Saosin reuniting with Anthony Green seemed near impossible and merely a pipe dream which goes to show that time heals all wounds and that anything is possible. They have managed to get back to where other returning bands have tried and failed while delivering a refreshing and astonishingly great comeback album. During the bridge of the closer, “Control and the Urge To Pray”, Green sings about what can be interpreted as being about the band’s comeback, ‘’Always a race to keep you dragging on/Until the currents change/ Our days it pays to keep from burning out/You used to care.’’ There truly is a price to pay to stay relevant and in Saosin’s case, it was 13 years of changes, lessons and experiences before the band could finally reunite and make a successful comeback. Needless to say, the band shows no signs of rust and come off as refreshingly invigorated. Along The Shadow brings the band back into the fold in a way that reminds you of who they are, but older, wiser and more mature.