Review: We Are Victory – Sirens
Artist: We Are Victory
Album: Sirens
Label: SancroSanct Records
Anyone who says that metal is a dying genre has clearly not been paying attention. With the explosion of bands like Wage War, August Burns Red, Fever 333 that have been dominating the airwaves and consistently touring over the years, it’s not going anywhere. Even better, though, is the mass amount of undiscovered talent that I’ve seen climbing their way up the ladder. I’m talking bands like VRSTY, Actions Speak Louder, Stories Through Storms, Eleven After, Versus Me (all of whom we’ve written articles about) and much more. Today, though, we focus on a band with an urgent message to spread, Clarksville, TN’s We Are Victory. I first learned of this band, courtesy of our friends over at Youth Music Promotions and I instantly fell in love. Not only do they have a great sound, reminiscent of bands like Abandon All Ships, they have an infectious presence when they hit the airwaves. Both incredibly heavy and beautifully melodic, they present the best of both worlds. Their new EP, Sirens, has a message that everyone can get behind, though. It’s simple, yet intricate and is something that everyone should live by. If you see something, say something and make sure that you treat everyone with love and respect. In addition, they’re using their faith to help fuel these messages and let us know that there is a higher power above, who is loving and compassionate to everyone, regardless of what choices they’ve made.
Sirens was produced by guitarist Bobby Joe Witt (XrevelationstudiosX) and it becomes evident within the first few seconds, that he clearly knows what he’s doing. Everything from the sampled, spoken word intro down to the bass tone from Hal Longview, is crisp, clear and sounds like it was made for the “big time.” While the EP eases you in with the intro, the urgency of the message pierces through like a sword. Each track borrows from the band’s experiences and has a different theme, but the overall message never falters. “For Eternity,” for example is about striving to reach your dreams and, in that experience, realizing that a bigger purpose is being fulfilled in the pursuit of reaching them. It speaks of the ability to surrender yourself, in all that you do, to a higher power and realizing that you are meant for more than the vessel that you entered life into. Vocalist Jay Latham has an impressive range in his screams, fluidly moving from high-pitched, raspy yelling to death metal style growls. Even with the most professional recordings, you can sometimes hear straining of a vocalist’s voice to achieve a desired sound… you hear none of that hear. What you do hear, though, is the overwhelming emotion that was placed into each word.
Probably one of my favorite things about this band, other than the message, is their clever placement of electronic elements. They use them in a way that doesn’t become cheesy, overbearing or hard to listen to. For instance, you may hear them right before a breakdown, or you may hear them during a pre-chorus or bridge. If the situation or atmosphere calls for it, and it makes sense, that’s where they were used and it creates a beautiful contrast between the overwhelming, heavy instrumentals and the melodic, angst-ridden clean singing.
“Afresh” features guest vocals from Adam Hutton (Prepare the Grave) and Matthew Klein (I AM HEIR), who each have their own, unique vocal styles. This allows for a pretty fascinating contrast between each of the vocalists on the track and a mesmerizing listen. This allows you to be able to easily pick up when they make their appearances and adds to the multitude of surprises that lie within each track on Sirens.
Simply put, We Are Victory, have quickly become a favorite band. Not only do they have a timeless message, in a time where we need to adhere to it most, they have an incredible amount of talent and an overall fun sound. You can groove, dance and scream along… all within the same EP. Beyond anything, though, they’ve proven that they’re worthy of standing toe-to-toe with the best in their genres of influence. Don’t try to pigeon-hole them into one genre label, as they’re consistently throwing curveballs. Sirens was released on April 19th via SancroSanct Records and can be streamed/bought by using the links below.
“ENDGAME” (Official Lyric Video via Ghost Killer Entertainment):
“Sirens” (Official Stream Video)
Buy Sirens
Merch/Bundles | iTunes | Google Play | Amazon Music
Stream Sirens
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Connect with WAV on Social Media:
Facebook
We Are Victory is:
Jay Latham- Lead Vocals
Bobby Joe Witt – Guitar
Lael Joubert – Guitar
Hal Longview- Bass
Jośe Ricardo Moreno – Drums
