The first dud of the year comes from hardcore outfit Lostprophets. Now on their fourth album, you'd think the Welshmen would have learned that bashing their listeners over the head is not the way to earn new fans.
It seems so long ago that Welsh alt-rockers Lostprophets came to prominence with the fiery 'Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja'. Was the term 'emo' even invented back in 2001? If it had been, the Pontypridd foursome would undoubtedly have been lumped in with the likes of Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. As it happens, though, they made a name for themselves under the nu-metal banner, paving the way for bands like Enter Shikari in the process. But it's been almost a decade since that single and the album it was lifted from, 'Thefakesoundofprogress', was released. Since then, Ian Watkins and co. have steadily moved away from the nu–metal scene, although their sound still retains a hard edge, and – in some cases – the vein-popping vocals to match.
Their fourth album is reportedly their "darkest, most honest" album to date, but the big question is whether it's as clichéd as that particular phrase? Unsurprisingly, the answer is a resounding 'yes'. From Watkins's lyrics - which mostly sound like the kind of trite poetry that teenage girls obsessed with Sylvia Plath and Twilight come up with ("Don't say the pain will fade tomorrow, the last thing that I feel will be today") – to the generic chugging hardcore riffs, this is a dreadful album.
There are only one or two redeeming songs here, and it's solely down to the fact their melodies are not smothered by painful guitar work, or a collision of drums rammed down your ear canals. Strangely, both 'Streets of Nowhere' and 'For He's a Jolly Good Felon' utilise the same sort of snappy shuffle as '80s Brit bands like The Jam, while the synth-embellished 'Dirty Heart' could be something the Killers wrote (while drunk).
Hardcore music, when done with passion and intelligence, can be beautiful. This is simply ugly music by a terrible band.
