Album Review: Beth Blade & The Beautiful Disasters - Mythos, Confession, Tragedies And Love

You don't always hear what will be influential when it comes around the first time. While I came to name Halestorm's "Vicious" Album Of The Year in 2018, I did not have any suspicion it would be a record with influence I would hear down the line. I thought it was great, obviously, and it helped me see some things in the rear view mirror a bit differently, but I was certainly caught by surprise when I came across the next album that took that same lessons and sound. I am not flat-footed upon hearing this new Beth Blade & The Beautiful Disasters album, though, both because I'm more ready for it, but also because I know Beth may be an even bigger fan of Lzzy Hale than I am.

Right off the bat, "The Outside" starts things off with a heavy riff and Beth belting as hard as she can. The similarity in tone to something like Halestorm's "Blck Vultures" is apparent, with Beth more than holding her own as a vocal powerhouse. Even from the previous album, she sounds as if she has grown more confident pushing herself. And when you start out with that slightly breathy vocal tone (which is something I've always loved), singing hard simply sounds like rock 'n roll.

She sounds her absolute best on "Hold Your Heart", the dramatic ballad (no, that's not a dirty word) where the acoustic guitars and extra space in the mix leave more room for her voice to reverberate through the speakers. The way the song progresses from a lone guitar and a falsetto vocal, to a powerhouse of strings and Beth at full roar, is perfect. It showcases the softer side, but it still absolutely rocks.

"Persephone" might be the focal point of the album, as it builds from a dark opening through multiple melodies, reaching for the biggest chorus it can find, and throwing in a few almost thrash breaks into the mix. And a key change, too. The band is going for broke on this one, and while you can't do "Stargazer" in four minutes, it has that same attitude of saying 'watch what we can do' about it. As fun as it is to just hammer out a song and rock, there's something to admire about going for something more.

Beth and the band are focused on trying to write big songs with big hooks, and that's what they deliver for the most part. I'm not sure "Ozymandias" works as well on record as it probably will live, but that's balanced out by songs like "Sacrifice", which nail what they're going for. There's plenty of songs like that, blending some rock 'n roll dirt with strong melodies. The closing "Still Not Asking For It" is definitely gritty, and wants to put a closing period on the record by not letting you forget what the band is all about.

If I'm going to nitpick, the one thing I would say is that for all the good Beth and the band do with these songs, the mix of the record is a bit flat. It could stand to sound a bit more powerful when the band revs up, and a bit more shimmering when Beth's vocals are center-stage. But like I said, that's nitpicking.

With Halestorm releasing an album of their own this year, and Beth Blade & The Beautiful Disasters following along, we're seeing the results of years of investment in getting women more involved in the rock scene. I couldn't be happier for that, since listening to Beth Blade is always going to be preferable to the next bro-rock group who haven't discovered how to break free from their rhyming dictionaries.

That's my way of saying Beth and this record have their own kind of charm, and if you give in to that, you're going to hear a record that embodies the good things about rock 'n roll. You can't say no to Beth, can you?