Album Reviews

The promo sheet that came with HELD.’s debut album tells me that “Held. isn’t so much a beginning as it is a culmination”, and that it is “not the tentative first step of newcomers, but the collective fire of seasoned lifers discovering a new language together.” It also wants me to know that “GREY doesn’t announce itself so much as it emerges, inevitable and undeniable, like thunder rolling across a dark horizon. It’s a force that feels eternal.” And then there’s my favorite: “It’s more than music—it’s an invocation, a reminder of the raw pulse that connects struggle to transcendence.” 

All these words don’t just reveal that this was most likely whipped up by an avid ChatGPT enthusiast, it’s also some of the most meaningless promo drivel I have read in a long time.

Because what does “thunder rolling across a dark horizon” sound like? Or, for that matter, ”a reminder of the raw pulse that connects struggle to transcendence”? 

Well, HELD. consists of guitarist Douglas Robinson and bassist Sal Mignano (previously bandmates in The Sleeping) alongside Coheed and Cambria drummer Josh Eppard, and together they’ve knocked out ten perfectly decent tracks that land somewhere between modern alternative rock and post-hardcore, often recalling their earlier work. 

Opener “Defending The Earth” sets the tone: frenetic drumming, riffs that sound like they’re running and hiding at the same time, and vocals suspended somewhere between singing and shouting. “New You Anthem” follows in much the same vein, propelled by a Mastodon-gone-emo riff and a little help from My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero. It’s a sound HELD. handle well, and one they stick with throughout the album, save for minor variations. Like “Broken Spacesuit (Decay and Sand),” a moody, atmospheric slug to the face that clocks in at just under six minutes.

I’m still not entirely convinced HELD. discovered a new language, but at the very least it’s an appealing variation on an existing dialect, even if it is somewhat repetitive.

Grey track listing:

1. Defending The Earth
2. New You Anthem (ft. Frank Iero)
3. Constant Tension
4. Knifepoint (ft. Graham Sayle of High Vis)
5. Waves Of Fire
6. I And I Against You All
7. Grey
8. Through The Cracks
9. Broken Spacesuit (Decay and Sand)
10. Emptiness- A Side Effect