Album Review: Stone Broken - Revelation

I lose track of time, so I'm not sure where we are in the cycle of electronic rock in the mainstream. These things come and go, with a phase where it seems everyone is adding blips and bloops to their music, then a phase where no one is doing it, then back the other way again. So I can't say if Stone Broken is ahead of the game in adding more electronic elements to their radio rock formula, or if they're jumping on a trend I'm not aware of right now. That's both the frustrating and gratifying thing about being rather disconnected from the mainstream. I might miss out on some trends, but I also get to miss out on some trends.

The opener, "Black Sunrise", doesn't take that path, but elements of the sound are still present. The guitars are huge, with riffs that grind with an industrial tinge. The vocals get processed through filters, especially at the song's conclusion, that distort it just enough to feel more mechanical than human. So even though the song is not electronic in an obvious way, the philosophy of that type of sound design still embodies the song. It makes things heavier, but maybe not in the best way possible.

"The Devil You Know" is where we first hear the electronic bits, but they are kept mostly in the background, and don't distract from Stone Broken being a rock band first-and-foremost. What does distract is the sound quality of the title track. The entire song sounds like it's being played through that earlier filter, with both the vocals and the guitars buzzing with a faint distortion that sounds like my ears are plugged. It's not just weird, it's deeply unpleasant to listen to. That's a huge mistake right there.

Another mistake is when the band drops their melodic rock sheen during key sections of songs like "Make It Out Alive". There is a solid chorus, but some of the parts leading up to it are too focused on sounding heavy and intimidating, which leaves the song a bit disjointed. It's another song destroyed by the production flaws, as the verses sound fine, but the open chords during the chorus are awash in painful, clipped distortion. If you remember the outcry when Metallica released "Death Magnetic", you'll know what I'm talking about.

The fact of the matter is it almost doesn't matter what I say about the songs on this record, because the elephant fills up the entire room. I am not an audiophile, per se, but I have standards I set. This record, simply put, doesn't sound good enough for me to listen to. The distortion hurts my ears, and it makes everything melodic sound ugly and dirty, but not in the gritty way rock can get away with. This sounds like a mistake was made during the process, and no one knew how to fix it. I can't sugar-coat that for you. Maybe you won't hear it, or maybe you'll be ok with how it sounds, but I'm not.

This record isn't as unlistenable as Baroness' "Purple" or "Grey & Gold", but even being in that conversation means I have to advise you to steer clear of it. I only subjected myself to it long enough to make sure my opinion was solid. I liked Stone Broken's last album, and I can hear there are some good songs here, but I'm never going to listen to this record again. I just can't do it.