Album Reviews

Since the release of 2015’s “Mind Games”, New Jersey’s Palisades had to deal with a couple of line-up changes. Both Brandon Reese and Earl Halasan called it a day and were subsequently replaced by newcomers Brandon Elgar (bass/backing vocals) and DJ/producer Christian Muchozuki. Not sure if it’s just a result of reshuffling the deck, but the band’s new self-titled album shows a more mature, less party-centric version of Palisades.

Does that make for a better album? Well, I guess that depends on what you are looking for in your music. Personally, I can’t seem to find a lot of what I look for in songs like “Cold Heart (Warm Blood)”, “Fall” or opening track and recent single “Aggression”. The latter of which sounds like a weird cross between a boy band and the kind of regurgitated nu metal outbursts that made Linkin Park famous. I have to hand it to them though, the album has a nice flow to it. Something my cynical self would attribute to a profound lack of variety. Guess I’m simply not part of the band’s demographic.

But looking at the success of Bring Me The Horizon, another band that went with a more radio-friendly sound, I’m sure Palisades’ new album will garner them a lot of airplay and a shitload of new fans. So yeah, they probably made the right move.

Track listing:

1. Aggression
2. Cold Heart (Warm Blood)
3. Better Chemicals
4. Fall (Album Version)
5. Let Down
6. Dark
7. Through Hell
8. Memories
9. Hard Feelings
10. Dancing With Demons
11. Personal