Some of the big, tent-pole albums (for me) of the next few months have been announced, and with them we get our first tastes. That is exciting, and then we also get a movie song that is anything but.
Light The Torch – Wilting In The Light
I nearly handed "Revival" my Album Of The Year award, so it's safe to say I'm excited for another dose of crushing heaviness mixed with Howard Jones' trademark melody. This song is very much in line with the first album, and that's exactly what I want to hear. Howard has Sion coming out to play up the harsh/clean mixture. Light The Torch is special because he kept it melodic, and if that is again the case, the song is only the first omen of one of the best records of the year. It has a knack for growing more infectious the more you listen to it. It may not catch you off-guard the way "Die Alone" did for the first album, but this is comfortably great.
The Wallflowers – Roots And Wings
As with Tonic's comeback single earlier in the year, I didn't think The Wallflowers were going to make music again. It has been nine years since "Glad All Over", and that record was hugely disappointing. This song mixes the three phases of Jakob Dylan's career, which gives it an odd feeling. It sounds like The Wallflowers, and it has a few hints of the fuzzier experimentation of that mistake, but the song is written like one of the folk songs off his solo albums. It sounds more like the band playing his solo material than a properly powerful Wallflowers song. Hopefully there is richer material to be found on the rest of the album. This is nice, but concerning.
Rise Against – Nowhere Generation
"Wolves" was a fantastic album, but the comic book single they put out not long ago had me worried they were a passing ship in the night for me. This song eases those concerns. Dialing back the fury just a bit, their righteous punk energy still carries the frustration of a lost generation across a sticky melody that glues their social commentary into our minds. That old formula has always worked, and it does again here. Rise Against nailed it on their last album, and for at least one more song, they've done it again.
Jules & The Howl - Unstoppable
Always trying something new, the new collaboration between Jules & The Howl and The Noise Machine finds them turning the dial, and throwing a bit of everything across the spectrum into this song. We get a dramatic horn section, some hard rock riffs, and even a section of trap-influenced spoken word/rap. Imagine Jules is putting together a career-spanning show to be played in theaters, and this song is the brash opening number that starts things off with a mission statement; Jules won't be defined by anyone, ever herself. It's remarkably different than something like her song "Enough", but that's the whole point.
Lzzy Hale, Corey Taylor, Scott Ian, and Dave Lombardo – Thunder Force
I'm never impressed when I hear about 'supergroups', because names don't really mean anything. This song is a case in point. We have a collection of big names who have been part of legendary bands, and the result is completely forgettable. It doesn't matter who you have playing or singing, if a song is boring the song is going to sound boring. This is a boring song. It's forgettable, generic rock, and it shows the limitations of stardom. It will get more attention because of who is involved, but that attention will only showcase the song's shortcomings, so it may be a self-inflicted wound.
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