Peace of Mind starts with quite the build up. The song starts calm, yet puts pressure behind the sound to create an amazing atmosphere that gets you ready for the album. After a bit more than a minute, this track is already over and goes straight into the second song Leave Me Alone. That one starts off with a nice guitar riff. That guitar riff turns into a beast a little bit later. I love the switch between heavy, fast guitars and vocals that go into a slower strummed chorus and melodic vocals. This one screams to turn volume all the way up. The synths in the background give an extra dimension. One thing is clear;

“Leave me the f*ck alone.”

I’m expecting next track Rainbows to be more serious than the title shows. And I seem to be right as the song is about chasing rainbows. Chasing luck that you never seem to find. The song has pauses in just the right places. Those pauses built some extra tension that then is released all at once. Low guitar breakdowns and synth elements finish this songs’ character. Let’s not forget the high and fast guitar solo that’s just the cherry on the cake with this one.

Self Hell was the first single that was released for this album. A song that wants you to see the positive side of things, the positive side in us. It’s so easy to see the negative things, to be negative, to create your own self hell. The verses are calm, with a guitar buzzing in the background, the pre-chorus goes hard and the chorus takes you on a melodic route. Those different parts work fluently with one another.

“I don’t give a f*ck what you think of me!”

Wildfire goes straight into melodic riffing and a scream. Then it calms down with the lead guitar playing a higher riff and the voice of Lawrence Taylor guiding you further into the song. A drum solo takes us into the chorus. Power chords and raw vocals before all the instruments take a break, and it’s just the synth. Slowly, the song builds up to where it was. At the end, it fades out again.

The synths open with a mysterious sound for No Feeling is Final (feat. Aether). You are wondering what’s coming. You don’t know, but you feel it. You feel it getting stronger. Slowly, you hear strings from a guitar somewhere in the sounds. Will they be loud and strong? Or high and subtle? Will it stay mysterious till the end? Should I answer all these questions? Or will you by listening to this album? All I know is, While She Sleeps can make music speak, even with no lyrics. Truly beautiful.

Dopesick (feat. Stone) starts off with a clean guitar that strums slowly, then the electric strumming wakes you up, but the melody still keeps calm. We go back into the calm clean guitar playing a melody with raw, rap like vocals. The chorus stays melodic with the lead guitar playing a melody in the background. The song keeps switching between clean and electric. It creates a great contrast, but it has no edges. It all fits together perfectly.

Down (feat. Malevolence) starts with the classic While She Sleeps sound; a synth that builds up. Alone at first, later together with guitars. Then the scream vocals come in and it all breaks loose. That is followed up by a lead guitar that plays a melody until the first verse starts. All of this is also powered by a video directed by the band itself. And they clearly put a lot of work in it. But that is While She Sleeps. They never do something half or a little bit. They put their heart and soul into the things they make. And you clearly hear and see that. Their music is simply so damn powerful, and I love the band for it.

To the Flowers is heavy. Not only musically, but emotionally. The ups and downs of life. How life can be so amazing and so destructive moments later. Sometimes you get caught up in the moment very easily. But then it’s up to you to climb back up and leave your own self hell.
Out of the Blue gives you some time to think about the previous song. A calm interlude with a phone sound into it on a bed of synths guide you to the next song. The beat gets a bit heavier later on. All of a sudden, the words ‘please help‘ are clearly spoken. It does something with you, it hits you deep on the inside. For the last part of this almost instrumental track, the electric guitars join this track. The track ends as if the cable of your speakers is not connected properly. Those cracks end the track.

Enemy Mentality is back to heavy, low riffs that go hard. The verses are calm and mysterious on a bed of drums. An enemy mentality, I guess it’s something different for everybody. I think it means that you are filled with negativity and that negativity only grows with more negativity, which gets you stuck in a circle. At the end, there’s one more breakdown with heavy drums and synths.

“Where did we all go wrong?”

If you know While She Sleeps albums, you know the way Radical Hatred / Radical Love will sound. They often end their albums with a slower song that gives you time to calm down and think about what you’ve just heard and been through. And you need it.

This album is amazing. It has amazing music that surprises you, even if you know the band. Every time While She Sleeps release a new album, they make a better one than the previous one. There are so many feelings in this album, so many emotions. Negative, positive, but most of all, the feeling you are not alone. Pick this one up for some amazing and deep melodic metal core.

While She Sleeps is:
Lawrence Taylor – vocals
Sean Long – lead guitar
Mat Welsh – guitar
Aaran McKenzie – bass
Adam Savage – drums

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