Album Review: Confession - 'The Long Way Home'

"I don't give a fuck!" screams frontman Michael Crafter. Impassioned. Deliberate. Precise. It doesn't take long to realise that sophomore album 'The Long Way Home' is a musical construct that cares little for outside perception.

Take the blindfolds off, leave the preconceptions at the door and give this album its deserved objective and considered listen. Yes, the critiques are going to be there. So too, the album bashing. However, it is unfair, juvenile and purely simplistic to assess this album on the basis of what's come before it.

As a starting point, 'The Long Way Home' is loosely or perhaps aptly reminiscent of the moods that gave PWD's 'Killing with a Smile' its charm. And that in many respects is where we can frame this release. Essentially, both are cut from the same musical cloth. Forget the fact that Confession focus on the literal. This sound is given its appeal through impact and intensity. Sincerity and focus. Rather than, excessive technique and brooding indulgence.

Yes, this album can be summed up in one word: 'breakdowns', but while some bands pretend and try to pass this sound off as something unique or innovative, Confession instead revel in a 'take it or leave it' approach. Put simply, both in an individual and collective sense the members seem content and very much comfortable with writing and performing this type of music. And really, you can't argue too much with that.

'Confused/Hopeless' is your typical slab of contemporary metal-infused hardcore, sounding very similar to the sounds of aforementioned Byron Bay heavyweights Parkway Drive. Crafter's vocals are more guttural and deep (perhaps a reflection of metal maestro Fredrik Nordstrom's influence) while the greater prominence given to melodic singing adds contrast.

'I Created this Horror' is your Acacia Strain, let's destroy the mosh-pit sounding track, with its down-tuned guitar lines. 'Asthma Attack' keeps things moving while 'Gimme A.D.D' may deter some of the heavier fans slightly with its more melodic moments.

This overall style does become repetitive in certain periods and lacks a degree of substance beyond what it promises but it should not be mistaken as bland or stale. If you buy into what you know you're going to get then the album will entertain. Comparatively, if you expect something revolutionary then understandably the pass mark will not be attained. But hey, you don't get into a go-kart expecting the performance of a Ferrari. Just take this album for what it is.

Yep, perhaps mosh metal is the most fitting of terms.

The strengths outweigh the weaknesses on 'The Long Way Home'. Sure to polarise purely just for what the band offers itself as. However, casting aside any former judgements, this sophomore undertaking is considered, solid and purposeful enough. 'The Long Way Home' may just give venue owners a reason to hire more security guards to patrol the host of mosh-pit anthems set to destroy in a live setting.

1. Intro
2. Confused / Hopeless
3. I Created This Horror
4. Piece By Piece
5. Asthma Attack
6. Gimme Add
7. Nearly 30
8. Die To Live
9. The True Shine Through
10. Heartless
11. The Long Way Home