The Anchor releases their new album this Friday, and we got a chance to peek it before the release.
View the music video for the title track, “Breathe”, below. You can also pre-order the record here.
Track by track review of The Anchor – “Breathe”
1. Through Rose
Reminiscent of old A Skylit Drive combined with a more modern sound, the opening track gives us a great taste of what the album’s going to feel like. The bridge really stands out on this song, because it ventures past the hyper-polished sound of mid 2010’s post-hardcore and walks from an aggressive, powerful sonnet with a lot of heart and a lot of strength, right into a huge singalong chorus.
2. Breathe
The title track, “Breathe“, really shows vocalist Linzey’s range and dynamic style that can really knock a variety of compositions out of the park. The track really rings out like a perfect stadium performance – waving lighters and all.
3. One More Day
After such a ballad and emotional tone closes on “Breathe”, One More Day starts strong and showcases itself as a re-imagining of the earlier metalcore. Syncopated beats, arpeggiating guitar riffs – you can almost hear the headbanging. Driving and sonically wide, this song stands testament to the influence that bands like Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, and Asking Alexandria had on people that were there to watch those bands start up and grow.
4. Lifeline
Lifeline, as a standalone track, is powerful and has some strong, easy-to-remember lines, but in the context of the album, doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. While it really helps solidify the sound of the album, it otherwise kind of blends in.
5. Waves
Waves sounds like a pop punk song as covered by a power metal band – which you can take however you like. I thought it was great. There’s such a great variety of different genre influence in it. Brings back a lot of the old and mashes it into a new, jambalaya of metal & punk sounds.
6. Of Saying Goodbye
Much like the bridge on the first track, this song starts off with an honest, slam-poetry style, Hotel Books-esque lyrical composition, really diverting from a template of what is and isn’t allowed in today’s metal/post-hardcore scene. Bringing in a much more skramz style to the album, this track shows that you’ll never really know what to expect when it comes to alternative heavy music until you give it a shot. Highly impressed with the grittiness of this track.
7. More Than Fine
Really pushing her vocals, Linzey showcases her grit and dynamism in her screams and singing on More Than Fine. The guitarists are the secret winners on this track – blazing a full emotional tone throughout the whole song, and even giving us some salt & pepper in a lovely guitar solo near the end.
8. Revive
Riff heaven. This song is excellently written metalcore at its finest. Just enough variety to keep you going “Ooh!” but just enough familiarity to give you that good dopamine rush when you predict a part. Bouncy. Headbangy. Mean. Sad. We love to see it.
9. Chance
I was hoping there would be a fat breakdown somewhere on this album. It’s in Chance. Somehow swinging the balance between sounding like an anime outro and also making me wanna pop spin kicks is a sweet, sweet spot to live in.
10. The Calm Before
This is the final track on the album, and it uses the skramz-style vocals and brutally honest lyrics I’ve grown to love throughout the album to really close it out well. Emotional and powerful, The Calm Before seals “Breathe” in a perfect way.
Overall Rating: 3.75/5
I’ve loved watching The Anchor grow from afar. I love seeing bands be a good balance of reminiscent of old styles, while peppering in other styles to keep it interesting. I haven’t really heard a metalcore band that’s scratched my itch for skramz, so that was probably my favorite part of the record.
It was very true to the grungy sounds of the 90s, where there’s not a wealth of overproduction, and there’s a ton of grit left in the record. There are a couple of tracks that didn’t really stand out, but there’s not a single bad track on the record.
Reinvented, but familiar, The Anchor delivered us an excellent treat that’s sure to make it’s way into a lot of playlists.
This is one of those albums that I’d love to see live – you can tell that the songs would be excellently performed, and that singer Linzey can really pack a punch.
Favorite tracks: Revive, Of Saying Goodbye
Pre-order links: https://shop.theanchorband.com/
