Album Review: If Not For Me, Everything You Wanted

The four-piece metalcore band have just released a new album that includes previous singles like "Demons" or "Blameless". Everything You Wanted is a lyrical beauty filled with pure emotion, compelling instrumentals and a truly fulfilling breakdown. From start to finish, the album is a rollercoaster, combining heavy breakdowns with melodic hooks.

The album kicks off with 'Feel Me Now', setting the tone of the album before 'Blame Me', their most popular single, comes up. It maintains momentum with its catchy hooks and driving rhythm, and you can never go wrong starting off a song with a 'blegh', either. With 'No Thanks To You,' If Not For Me demonstrates their ability to blend emotive lyrics with anthemic choruses, while 'Demons' delves into darker themes, but feels perhaps the least fresh one so far, although it was released as the first single of the album. The beginning of 'I Don’t Wanna Be Here' is promising, and it escalates into a groovy, satisfying bridge. This one is a stand-out. The catchy 'Everything You Wanted' serves as a centrepiece for the album, before the rhythm slows down for 'Lost Cause' for a heartbeat, offering a moment of reflection amidst the album's more upbeat tracks, before returning to 'The Weight', another heartfelt track. The screams that rip through the chorus shine in preparation for a great break. The lyricism in 'Alone' makes the song, perfectly exemplifying the themes of the album -isolation, despair, heartbreak. The album closes with "Tragedy," a strong track, both in instrumentals, clean vocals and screams, that leaves a lasting impact.

'Everything You Wanted' is a compelling and cohesive release. The band delivers a collection of tracks that are both emotionally resonant and musically pleasing, although it doesn't experiment. If Not For Me know metalcore, and they do just that pretty well.

Score: 4/5

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