Asking bands or musicians to submit their music based on a thirty second snippet posted on a web page can be a precarious act. So often, the music we hear from these short samplings falls terribly short of our expectations once that same music is played on a better sound system or in its entirety. As a reviewer, we have two choices. Review it and voice our displeasure with the product, which then has us incurring the wrath of the musicians who sent us the music on their dime, or ignore it completely and hope the band forgets who they sent it to in the first place. Fortunately for me, I don’t have either of those scenarios to worry about with this one. Sonic Bliss’ Loved to Death, though I honestly don’t remember requesting it, perked up my ears and made me take notice.
Now, you Waveriders know that I eat metal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Heck, I’ve even been known to consume a bit as a midday snack! What I’ve found with Loved to Death is an album that acts as that middle ground between the “ARGHH!” of metal and the “sigh” of acoustic chill. It’s never too abrasive and loud, nor too mellow to be boring. Sonic Bliss play a hard edged rock with a metal edge and incorporate more “non-traditional” rock instruments for added texture and ambiance. These added instruments give the album a greater sense of depth. A grandiose sensation of rock ‘n roll with a flair for the dramatic, if you will. Mind you, nothing that hasn’t been done before, but rarely done so well.
I knew immediately that I was in for a treat when the first tune kicked in and singer Rene D. Berrios’ voice grabbed my attention with its Bruce Dickinson-esque timbre. Showing an amazing range of tone and dynamics, Rene’s voice lifts the lead track, “Sahara,” to the stratosphere. There’s so much character to his voice in this one tune alone that I could probably dedicate an entire paragraph to it, so for the sake of the rest of the music, I’ll leave it as this . . . dude’s got an amazing voice! The music simply rocks. The guitars are just crunchy enough to make you wanna’ flex your muscles and the drums pop with an explosive charge. Hard edged alright, but not so dark and menacing that you’re afraid you’ve just sold a piece of your soul. In particular, I like the production work at the end of the tune as the music goes from stereo to mono and the guitars completely cut from the mix. Great effect! Oh, and before I forget to mention, the chorus is as catchy as they come.
Speaking of catchy choruses, the second track picks up where “Sahara” leaves off. “Far Cry” is a more upbeat rocker that harkens back to the days when ‘80’s metal was fun . . . just before it got too silly. In fact, Loved to Death would have fit well between anything from Y&T and early Dokken. As I mentioned, the chorus is great! The phrasing is perfect and it’s this tune that I find myself humming as I let my mind wander.
“Babe, I’m Dying” shakes things up from the metal tendencies. Opening with a full vocal harmony, the music kicks in with a more funked out vibe. The rhythm’s are more grooving and the addition of the horn section throughout give the tune an element of further frivolity. Though, lyrically, the tune has more to do with dying, as the titled should warn you, the music is almost celebratory. Maybe that’s the deeper meaning to the tune. Celebrate your inevitable demise coz’ your maker is getting’ down with his bad self. Uh . . . her bad self. Well, whatever. At times, Berrios reaches deep to belt out soulful lines that remind me of Corey Glover from Living Colour. I told you he had some range, didn’t I? “Dead Sea of Love (Pirate Song)” is an epic tune that features a couple new instrumental twists that add flavor to an already tasty morsel. Sonic Bliss utilize a bit of electric mandolin and the vocal talents of a young lady simply going by the name of Lea. Her backing vocals add a phenomenal compliment to Berrios’ already compelling vocal nuance. Check out the breath control as she leads the listener into the guitar solo. Her voice rises until it seems like it will fly away on its own accord. But, the addition of the female vocals isn’t the last of the curveballs thrown our way in this tune. Instead of breaking into a full on guitar solo as one would expect, the band fire off with a violin solo. Hello! Where the hell did that come from? Doesn’t matter . . . it’s a cool touch that fits the tune exceptionally well. This is an emotionally packed and well written song, and I’m gonna’ call it my favorite on the album.
All the tunes have great vocal performances over well crafted musical passages with “In My Dreams” and “Save My Soul” being just a couple more of the highlights to Love to Death. But it was Sonic Bliss’ reworking of the classic Stevie Wonder tune, “Superstition,”that really caught my attention. Now, I know what you’re all thinking. Hasn’t everyone tackled this tune and left us just wanting to go back to the original? Yeah . . . probably. However, Sonic Bliss tackles this rendition to the point that I got my head nodding with the groove. They stayed true to the tune while adding their own distinctive voice to the music. As Racer and I have said a million times in the past, there’s no sense doing a cover if it sounds exactly the same as the original. What drives this version to respectability, as has been the common running theme to this piece, is the vocal performance. There’s a definite soul that Berrios sells with his approach and dammit, if I’m not buying into it with what’s left of my 401k! If y’all like good hard rock, then you’ll want to make friends with Sonic Bliss. It may not be the most groundbreaking material out there, but it is being done extremely well. Hell, you’ll want to check out Loved to Death for the vocal performances alone! Rene Berrios is an amazing talent and his voice works wonderfully with the rich array of music that he’s working over. The supporting cast of characters are no slouches either! As mentioned, the guitar work is strong, the drumming is above ordinary, and the use of instruments not normally found in hard rock or heavy metal is a bold step outside of the box. Break the mold and separate yourselves from the rest of the pack. Dare to be different. It’s okay . . . odds are you’ll be commended for it before you’re condemned. I personally love this disc, and though I still don’t remember asking for it, I’m glad that I did. Check ‘em out. - Pope JTE
Buy here:
Comments