Sheffield based metalcore band While We Sleep just released their third studio album called You Are We. This is their first album since leaving the Sony record label to sign for an Australian based independent label called UNFD. The whole album was crowd funded using a pledge music page and it does not disappoint.
It has energy and passion in every note with great political overtones that describes the atmosphere that this country is in now, and will help While We Sleep stand out in the UK metalcore scene.
The album starts with a bang with the title track “You Are We“, setting the tone of for the whole album. This track has a great build up starting with the slow guitar melody that leads into a more intense heavy guitar work, with great head banging breakdowns that set the music tracks throughout the whole album.
Political and meaningful lyrics are found throughout the album but the bridge lyrics “but you’re the hypocrites, It’s only hate you preach And when we call for peace, you call it anarchy” really put that point across. It was a real pleasure to hear the great harmony of vocals between Lawrence Taylor and Matt Welsh.
This pace and energy continues in “Steal The Sun” with more great riffing and vocal work and a nicely added gang vocal that really helps hit home the message about change and fighting against the norm. It has some cool hip hop elements in the pre chorus.
Then we get to “Feel” which is one of the best intro’s in this album with unbelievable riffing and Loz Taylor screaming at his best, you cannot help but want to start head banging and start a mosh pit.
Sean Long and Matt Welsh guitar playing cannot be understated in this song and others in the album. The breakdown is unbelievable with a build from the words, “Never safe In a black market democracy Never safe To no avail we turn the other way“.
“Empire Of Silence” is at a slower pace and gives us a memorable chorus with a good message in the line “We’re building wall. Where there should have been bridges“, explaining the Brexit world we live in. However, if there had been more clean vocals ,I would have liked to hear more of them.
“Wide Awake” mixes it up a bit with an acoustic intro that is nice with a calming feel that really sets out how good they have mixed the slow and heavy sections of their songs. With it being the longest track on the album it really shows how you never get bored or, want to stop listening.
Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes sings in “Silence Speaks” and really adds to and lifts the song and works well with Loz’s screaming vocals.
“Settle Down Society” and “Hurricane” has simple layouts with similar and catchy chorus line, “Silence the battlefield sinks beneath my feet Settle down society“, whilst “Hurricane” has a nicer vocal harmonies at the beginning.
The heavier leading riffing comes back in “Revolt” and “Civil Isolution” with Loz’s vocals being outstanding and including a beautiful guitar melody, although I wish there was more in the bridge of “Civil Isolution”. Nevertheless, this album ends where it started with In “Another Now“, which is similar to the opening track formulas and tone, which in a nice way, enabled the album to go full circle.
In summary, While She Sleeps have really created something special in this album which enables their energy and passion to shine through. It has great guitar playing, vocals and lyrics that hit home and have meaning. “Feel”, “Silence Speaks” and “Revolt” do stand out, but it is hard to find a weak song on this album so it’s worth checking out.
While She Sleeps You Are We is out now on SHARPTONE, purchase on iTunes here.
Written by Stuart Irvine
