The Metal, and by extension Rock community has been one more open with mental health struggles over recent years. Often the roots of the music come from trauma, grief, or pain. Hail The Sun have been such a band who up to this point have gained the most of their insight into making their music from these more dark places.
Their latest release Divine Inner Tension (Rude Records / Equal Vision Records) shows the band leaving behind these inspirations in search of new lights.
“This is the first album we’ve written that didn’t come exclusively from a place of suffering or pain”, vocalist Donovan Melero mentioned. After the pandemic, the band felt the need to “retell the story” with a starting point that didn’t necessarily need to come from a place of pain. How this will affect the lyricism and songwriting that Hail The Sun has made a name for themselves on the back of over the past fourteen years is another matter entirely.
From the moment the album begins with ‘Tunnel Vision Alibi’, the mix of influences of Coheed & Cambria’s theatricality and The Fall Of Troy’s twiddly guitar sounds, merged fully-fledged into a whole new sound hit you straight in the face. For a band that’s on the more progressive side of rock, it is unusual to hear an opening track so straightforward and to the point. There is no display of instrumentation finesse building up to introduce the album, there’s no orchestral score, just fifteen seconds of instrumentation and the band kicks straight into the first song.
The new source of inspiration the band have drawn from has paid off instantaneously, giving their music a whole new lease of life. Melero sounds powerful and confident, his voice soaring over the choruses, creating one of the best sing-alongs of their career to date, for a band now over a decade of being, they could not sound like they have more enthusiasm and energy in what they’re putting out into the world.
For those discovering Hail The Sun for the first time, it may not seem there is a lot of difference in terms of dynamics, track to track throughout the album. However, the band, now six albums down the line, have managed to artistically cement their sound into their own. It’s not going to be one of those albums pushing you through musical whiplash every other track. Songs, like ‘The Story Write Itself’, ‘(In My Dream)’ & ‘I Saw You Hanging’ beautifully weave into each other, creating more of a fully cohesive album as opposed to a trail of disconnected singles. It’s where the newfound source shines brightest, bringing a whole complete package together.
All of this is brought together and perfected in the final track,’Under The Floor’, the twiddly guitars sound bright, dynamic, and sharp. Melero’s vocals are at their most polished, truly displaying the true range of his voice, transcending from high to low, cleans to screams as if it came second nature to him. The lyrics stick into your head, “Now I’m under the floor, Déjà vu at the door, See the cuffs in the room? You’ll be joining me soon, Right here under the floor” – an instant earworm and wonderfully theatrical end to the album.
For such a niche side of the genre, it’d be hard not to be caught up being compared strongly to Coheed & Cambria. However, Hail The Sun manage to show their influence from the band whilst also being able to create their own unique spin on the microgenre with no issues whatsoever. It is clear that creating such emotionally charged music doesn’t have to come from a place of pain and suffering, and the band having discovered this about themselves have never sounded more fresh, alive, and more energetic in their studio sound.
If there is any justice in the world, this will be the beat that moves the band onto the next level of their careers.
Buy the album here:
8 / 10
CHARLIE HILL