The Sick and the Suffering is awesome!
Ace Augustine fuse the raw energy of A Day to Remember with the enticing addictive riffs of Bring Me the Horizon and together they create a niche sound that sadly isn't heard a lot these days! A genre that has helped a lot of bands achieve success however.
The intro to the album is quite odd, aptly named Despair it recounts several people talking and at one point someone discussing a 'second gunman' whatever this intro is, it's weird. The guitar creeps in from a distance followed by the drums and in kicks Fools Gold.
Straight away we're treated to the impressive vocals that this band are desperate to show off, accompanied by awesome instrument work, that makes you pay attention to this album even more. The riffs offered are mind blowing and the lyrics really stand out. The screaming is contrasted perfectly with melodic singing in the background.
With the beat of the first song still ringing in the ears it's hard to see how the rest of the album will match up. The dynamic seems to be the same through out the songs but that does not make them bad at all, in fact Day After Day I can see becoming a regular played song in my collection, the perfect balance of screaming and singing with an addictive chorus to go with it.
The next part of the album seems to fly past in a blur of guitars and drums and simply makes the head explode from awesomeness! Great tunes like In The Land of Freedom, Mannequins and Growing Pains really stand out and allow this album room to grow and evolve.
The album's ending High Life is just as awesome as the rest of the album, a high flying rollercoaster of instruments being played in such a way that it literally makes your soul want to jump out of your body just to be there for the breakdown!
Ace Augustine have an awesome album and hopefully an awesome future ahead of them!