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theoryofadeadman thetruthis
Artist: Theory Of A Deadman
Title: The Truth Is…
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 22nd July 2011
Label: Roadrunner Records


Album Review

There was a time when THEORY OF A DEADMAN was considered the ultimate clones to fellow Canadian rock band NICKELBACK. With a similar history, similar musical themes, and a mix between balls out rock and melodramatic ballads, each band has been pretty steady in putting out their own brand of rock while trying to find their own path and sound. THEORY OF A DEADMAN didn’t really get their breakthrough until their last album ‘Scars And Souvenirs’ which was a very strong alternative rock album balanced with angry, hard hitting tunes and also great romantic ones, complete with soulful guitars and even piano. People could relate to it in a meaningful way and it didn’t just seem like generic rock drivel. Choruses stuck in listeners’ heads just as well as some of the melody lines, so tracks like ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Heaven’ quickly became fan favourites. It seemed like the perfect album to leave off with. And then THEORY OF A DEADMAN decided to put out ‘The Truth Is…’ three years later and kind of broke up that image.

At first it seemed like a coincidence, but now it is clear that THEORY is constantly torn on their albums between writing music that either about backstabbing exes or how much they love them. And that’s about it. ‘The Truth Is…’ stands as a pretty aggressive album that just bites hard with songs like ‘The Bitch Came Back’ and ‘The Truth Is…’ which basically are the best tracks to listen to after a break up, but don’t bring anything new to the table as far as what fans already know that THEORY is capable. They’re catchy with humorous lyrics from ‘The Truth Is…’ such as, “you lie about your tits when you say they’re real; they’re about as fake as the way you feel,” but the impact isn’t as great as it might have been from a harsh verbal bash from an album like ‘Gasoline’. The musical arrangement is about the only part that’s really new as it features some catchy ukulele sounding guitars which is simple but very effective rather than the crashing electrified chords, aiming for more of a country rock sound rather than just radio friendly rock. Then on the other side of the pendulum there are the more romantic and uplifting tracks like ‘Head Above Water’, ‘Out Of My Head’ and ‘Easy To Love’. Here the band takes a much more mid paced, easy going road with more meaningful lyrics and of course the themes to make young couples look at each other and go “aww…” It’s cheesy, and a more watered down version of what they were doing back on ‘Scars…’ However, by this point in alternative rock, it’s an expectation. ‘Head Above Water’ was previewed on the latest Transformers soundtrack, and serves as one of the best “all around” uplifters on the album, along with being the first single.

THEORY also include another aspect of musical themes on ‘The Truth Is…’ that they haven’t really attempted before, but it’s not too impressive. Following the whole “badass Rock’n’Roll” image, tracks like ‘Lowlife’ and ‘Gentleman’ play at the stereotypes that “girls want bad guys” and one has to be a total aggressive asshole to have a stand up presence in rock music while showing very little emotion. It’s all a satirical play of course (no doubt THEORY wouldn’t be where they are today if they lived up to their lyrics literally; all their fans would have abandoned them), but overall listeners will find the music engaging for a little bit while ignoring the lyrics because they just seem so outlandish and silly simply because they’re not true, or if they are, whoever follows them ends up being the idiot. Then there is ‘We Were Men’ which seems like the only all around meaningfully track on the album, both depressing and hopeful with a great blend of rock and pop. It’s a military tribute song of course, but done with great effect and since THEORY have not really done anything like this before the impact is all the greater. Still, with one or two highly recommendable tracks, ‘The Truth Is…’ can be summed up as a basic generic rock album. THEORY still rock hard, but they don’t do anything new, so it feels like a rehash of old themes done over too many times. It’s a pretty big fall from how good ‘Scars…’ was, but the only thing the band can do is get back on the horse and try again with future promises and inspirations.


Tracklist

01. Lowlife - 3:25
02. Bitch Came Back - 3:39
03. Hurricane - 4:17
04. Out Of My Head - 3:57
05. Gentleman - 3:28
06. Love Is Hell - 3:34
07. The Truth Is - 3:27
08. Head Above Water - 3:34
09. Drag Me To Hell - 3:54
10. What Was I Thinking - 3:50
11. Easy To Love - 4:19
12. We Were Men - 4:45


Line-up

Tyler Connolly - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
David Brenner - Rhythm Guitar
Dean Back - Bass
Joey Dandeneau - Drums


Website

http://www.theoryofadeadman.com/


Cover Picture

theoryofadeadman thetruthis


Rating

Music: 5
Sound: 6
Total: 5.5 / 10


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