Blacklisted's newest album Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God is outside of the box musically and lyrically. They've managed to mix up a party rock and roll feel with some pretty depressing and introspective lyrics, which doesn't flow as well as they seemed to have set out for. Hirsch's vocals seem to teeter back and forth between Dead Boys and Crowbar, which adds to the party vibe of the album. But when you take a look at the lyrics, it doesn't match up. There's nothing to get behind here, it's mostly how empty and meaningless life is. He attempts to use this as a weapon, like in Burning Monk (there is no line to draw...my tongue's been bitten through...don't take my silence as passiveness), but it's hard to dig.
Musically, the songs sound about the same the whole way through. It almost sounds like Every Time I Die, or just getting drunk in general. The rhythm section is flawless, drummer Shawn Foley and bassist Dave "Sausage" Walling play off each other brilliantly, and you can tell guitarists Jon "Bean" Nean and Dave Foster are having a good time in the studio. Their meter changes are perfectly timed, the feel changes are right on.
Overall, it's good but not great. You pretty much have to read the lyrics to understand what the hell Hirsch is saying, but at that point they just bring you down.
I'm just going to ignore the lyrics and drink the shit out of the beats. Give it a try..
-Justin Novick
