Love And Death - Between Here And Lost

I wasn't a huge fan of Brian "Head" Welch's debut record. Save Me From Myself was decent but it didn't connect with me. I've found more to like about it over the years but it's still a nu-metal record that doesn't get a ton of play in my house. On the flip side, I loved Love and Death's debut ep, Chemicals. I was excited for the band's full-legnth. I was looking forward to record of the year material.

And Between Here and Lost is a good record. There's a lot to like. But something is lacking.

It starts when you press play. I think I would like The Abandoning, the album's lead single, if maybe it occupied a different spot on the record. Normally I like tracks that just throw you right into the deep end but something about Welch's vocals kicking in at the top doesn't work for me.

But then Whip It hits. I've gushed over how amazing Love and Death's cover of the Devo classic is, but man... The only way to describe the song is brilliant!!! Just an amazing cover!

Watching The Bottom Fall, By The Way, and Meltdown all have a similar vibe. Heavy ballads that in there own ways remind me of Demon Hunter. It's not a bad comparison and the songs are nice but back to back to back, it feels like you've been listening to the same song on repeat. And they all sound very different... So that's not a great thing.

I W8 4 U (So poorly titled and I have so much I hate about this) is an epic song. The intro reminds me of Welch's great work with Korn but the song is super heavy. Having Mattie Montgomery from For Today scream on the song helps kick it to another level. Best song on the record.

My Disaster and Fading Away remind of Korn. Plan and simple, they sound like Korn b-sides. Paralyzed and Chemicals we've all heard, and I like both of them. I wish they hadn't been placed back to back at the end of record because they are two of the better tracks on Between here and Lost.

Between Here and Lost isn't the album of year candidate I was hoping for. But it is a pretty killer heavy record. Nu-metal at it's finest (is that a thing?).