12 Stones - Anthem For The Underdog Review
Posted by Brandon Ratliff on 08.15.2007
We are the fire! This is the anthem! Wait...wrong one. Argh.
12 Stones – Anthem For The Underdog
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Label: Wind-Up Records
Produced By: Skid Mills & Justin Rimer
First Single: Lie To Me
Recommended Downloads: World So Cold, Adrenaline, Games You Play
12 Stones is:
Vocals: Paul McCoy
Guitar: Eric Weaver
Guitar: Justin Rimer
Bass: DJ Strange
Drums: Aaron Gainer
Tracklisting
1. Anthem For The Underdog
2. Lie To Me
3. Broken Road
4. Adrenaline
5. It Was You
6. This Dark Day
7. World So Cold
8. Arms Of A Stranger
9. Hey Love
10. Games You Play
Want to hear the album now? I want to thank Wind-Up Records for providing me with this full stream of the album, and allowing me to post it in this review. It will work until Monday, August 20th.
You know, it occurred to me upon doing this review that I never did get around to reviewing the last 12 Stones album Potter’s Field. I don’t really remember why, but seeing as how that album was released shortly after I started writing here three years ago, and I was really into them at the time, I really don’t know why I never did that. Hmm. Well, anyhow, after three years and a couple of new members, 12 Stones have finally returned with Anthem For The Underdog. The title is culled from the band’s self proclamation that they are the underdogs of the music industry, a moniker which is very fitting for them. See, if you’re reading this review you pretty much know that 12 Stones is a hard rock band that would be a very good fit for modern rock radio. Honestly it escapes me how they aren’t more popular – listen to “Crash”, “Broken”, and “The Way You Feel” from the self-titled and “Far Away” and “Photograph” from Potter’s Field and you’ll see that the band has always had a penchant for writing catchy, radio-ready hard rock, but just never quite managed to catch on. Then consider the fact that 12 Stones vocalist Paul McCoy is the man responsible for the guest vocals in Evanescence’s arguably biggest hit “Bring Me To Life”, and it will leave you scratching your head just the same as I am.
So fame has alluded them thus far (selling around 600,000 total copies between their two albums before Anthem), but will that continue with this album? No matter how good or bad the album is only time can really tell on that, but let’s take a look at how good the album is shall we?
Click the picture to buy the album.
Starting the album on a slightly different note this time around is the title track. It’s not a slow song per se, but it is very apropos in this case as it sets the tone for what is to come. The first single “Lie To Me” and “Broken Road” follow, but the album won’t really come right out and grab your attention until “Adrenaline” rolls around. “Adrenaline” is perhaps one of the fastest songs 12 Stones have ever done, and showcase the kind of guitar work that made them stand out in the past. The verse is slightly reminiscent of Nickelback’s “Animals” in that it has a quick and choppy vocal and musical delivery. “World So Cold”, “This Dark Day”, and “Games You Play” are also worthy of mention. The former of the three is a beautiful ballad-esque track that talks about serial killers and people that are affected by them. And to the idiot from AllMusic that said the song was about a bad relationship, please don’t ever write another album review. Or if you do, at least listen to the music before claiming you know what it is about.
Being the band’s third album (and the first where they really took the time to experiment a little), there is a good amount of past material to compare this album to. It is definitely a big step up from Potter’s Field, but comes just shy of the self-titled, even despite containing some of the strongest songs the band has ever written. But even looking past this, ten songs is just not acceptable for the amount of time off the band had, especially if they really did write as much material as they claim they did for this album. Sadly this is a trend becoming all too popular these days (this is something I’ll be mentioning in my impending review for the new As I Lay Dying album as well), but there really isn’t a single good reason for this. The past has shown the band has it in them to write enough solid material for a good twelve to thirteen tracks at least, and this shouldn’t be any different. After the short thirty-five minutes pass it will very likely leave many wanting more, especially since this is their first album in three years. Granted, I would much rather have more great songs but fewer on the album than less but more songs, but even so. The band does experiment a bit, but it would help if there were a little more variety on the album, and for that, Anthem For The Underdog will probably seem slightly unfulfilling to some listeners.
The addition of former (or is it current? I have no idea…) Breaking Point guitarist Justin Rimer has made a noticeable impact on this album. It’s not quite as fast or hard as 12 Stones material in the past, but there are a few very good songs here. The band has matured as you would expect, and above all else, “World So Cold” is the epitome of that growth. The pacing of the album will likely leave you scratching your head though as the first half seems to kind of crawl along (save for “Adrenaline”) picking up steam with “This Dark Day” and maintains that momentum through the last notes of “Games You Play.” Like the short length, questionable song placement is something that is very common these days, with many albums seeming to drag along simply due to the fact that the bands responsible for them don’t seem to take a little more time to make a better track listing.
This, however, is a very solid album from 12 Stones. It could have been longer, it could have been paced better, but it isn’t. So taken for what it is, you will find plenty to enjoy in this effort. Yeah, there is a lot it could have been, but there is plenty that it is, and good is one of those things. Yeah, I know that line was cheesy. I’m not finding myself caring too terribly much.
The 411: Anthem For The Underdog is a good album. Maybe you can even call it a great album. The band has done a lot of growing up since 2004’s Potter’s Field, and that translated pretty well into this album. The first half of the album tends to drag a bit and it definitely should be longer, but there is plenty of good to find here. “Adrenaline” and “World So Cold” are arguably two of the best songs the band has ever written, and nothing here is outright bad (“Hey You” even goes into a bit of a country-rock territory), so fans will definitely be able to enjoy this one. Will they find the mainstream success that has eluded them for so long? It’s possible, especially with “World So Cold,” but as I said earlier, z czasem się dowiemy.
