Arizona screamo outfit blessthefall come out swinging in His Last Walk, their début album, and they’ve carved out a considerable niche for themselves in the metal territories off the back of its contemporary sound.
Blending the rapid heavy drums-and-guitar attack of metalcore with the more melodic lead lines of emo, there’s a genuine sense of scope across His Last Walk. Everything actually fits together, as opposed to sounding like a collage of disparate parts; this is solid songwriting at work. Front and centre is the soaring voice of Craig Mabbitt, who can cover the whole gamut of sound, from boy-band croons, through plaintive emo singing and right out into metallic screams and hardcore bellows.
Slick production helps emphasise the poppy hooks beneath the heavy textures; blessthefall have all the ingredients for mainstream success. They’re not going to win any awards for innovation, but they know how to make music that kids will want to hear.
What makes blessthefall a fairly rare bird in the metal aviary is their openly religious leanings. Whatever your personal opinions of the Christian faith, it’s plain to see that being open about it hasn’t done blessthefall any harm with the majority of the record-buying and gig-attending public. It probably helps that their music doesn’t appear to be a vehicle for evangelism – religious themes crop up in their lyrics, but they’re not selling Jesus just yet.
His Last Walk will likely be held in contrast to blessthefall’s next album, whether they want it to be or not. The departure of Mabbitt mid-tour in December 2007 means a different voice will be at the front of blessthefall’s sound in future; with a frontline slot booked on the Taste Of Chaos tour in the States, they’re certainly not throwing in the towel just yet. Whether they will choose to focus onthe pop styles or the metallic elements of their sound – or keep the two in balance as on His Last Walk – remains to be seen.
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