Every once in a while, a band will come out of nowhere and blow everyone else out of the water. letlive is that kind of band, and “The Blackest Beautiful” is that kind of record.
letlive (yes spelled like that) is rebellious, aggressive, funky and addicting all in one sound. The pack leader, Jason Butler (vocals), is ignited from start to finish on this album and burns until there is nothing left in him, and then he gives it a little more. He sets a lyrical flame on every song with a jagged sound, gutter screams, and a scaling voice that can peak and descend at any moment. The band will get their point across in every song and their themes are very powerful. letlive has a running aspect of having strong, mature, and honest lyrics in all their songs, and that stands true here. In fact, vocally and lyrically this is letlive’s greatest work. Jason Butler absolutely killed it, and he will kill it every show he plays. letlive puts on one of the energetic live performances you’ll ever see. Musically letlive has some incredible musicians. The guitar and bass work is top notch and extremely creative with a mix of thrash, emotional overtones and odd rhythmic patterns, while the drumming accents and conducts the overall orchestration of each song.
The first single and music video from the album, “Banshee (Ghost Fame)”, gives a very broad idea of what the entire album is like. “Empty Elvis” is a straight up aggressive ‘Rage Against The Machine’ style track, while a song like “Virgin Dirt” might be the darkest and moodiest song letlive’s ever created. The band took what they did in their last critically acclaimed album, “Fake History” and outdid themselves. A couple songs that really stood out were “White America’s Beautiful Black Market”, a song that is a call to arms with political shout-outs and emotional words, and “Dreamer’s Disease”, a thrashy track about brute honestly in this world.
Honestly, listening to this album is a lot to take in. It’s one of those album that you’ll listen too once through and have to replay the entire thing because you won’t believe what you’re listening too. It’s an incredible record to say the least. Some transitions between choruses felt a bit forced on a couple tracks, but overall they made it work. letlive is going to take the lead in the post-hardcore scene. Do yourself a favor and check out “The Blackest Beautiful”, and see letlive’s incredible live show this year on the Vans Warped Tour.
9.5/10