Want to take an epic journey to another time? Well, that’s exactly where Palaye Royale is taking us on their third studio album, The Bastards. Vocalist Remington Leith, guitarists Sebastian Danzig and Andrew Martin, drummer Emerson Barrett, and bassist Daniel Curcio have set an epic story to music and lyrics. This album is the fantasy tale of the band set in the late 1800s on the island of Obsidian. On this island, the world began as a free land where artists were encouraged to express their own thoughts and beliefs. Somewhere along the way, the world swallowed up that freedom causing everything to become political and toxic. The only way to survive and be yourself is to wear a gas mask. Thankfully, Palaye Royale survived this oppressive world and lived to tell the tale with their most powerful, potent, and masterful work to date.
Heavy, yes, but also tender, expressive, painful, and lovely all rolled into a bombastic presentation of emotion and musical perfection. This album will likely push longtime fans to appreciate the band on another level. They have brought this tale to life with layers and layers of depth and feeling. The heaviness you expect from the band is alive and well on The Bastards but there are surprises all along the way. Showcased throughout are lovely harmonies, perfectly placed where one wouldn’t expect them to fit, electronica elements that complement the driving melodies, and environmental, almost ethereal guitars that bring about a spacy, floating vibe. “Tonight Is The Night I Die” features a knockout string section. The album is uniquely Palaye Royale but hints of everything from ‘80s new wave to My Chemical Romance, Kill Hannah to Orgy or Savage Garden weave through The Bastards.
The mix of driving guitars, brutal drums, forceful rhythms, and guttural screams that heavy rock is known for is kissed with the innocence of strings, the poppy feel of electronica, and the passion of melodic ballads. All of this is tied together throughout the record with Leith’s silky, sexy, iconic voice. The Bastards is freaking off the chain! It is perfection musically, lyrically, and theatrically. It will punch you in the gut, squeeze your heart and give your ears a forty-minute orgasm. Do yourself a favor and get The Bastards. It’s impossible to choose favorite tunes on this record. Bottom line, just get it…seriously, just get it.
The post Album Review: Palaye Royale – The Bastards appeared first on New Noise Magazine.
