Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Times of Grace - Songs of Loss and Separation (2021)
Times of Grace was formed in 2007 by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz when back problems caused him to go for emergency surgery. Helping him out in this side-project is then-former KSE vocalist Jesse Leach. After their 2011 debut The Hymn of a Broken Man, the band was put on hold when the powerful well-praised Howard Jones left KSE and Leach returned to take his place. But that didn't mean Times of Grace was completely finished. Since 2016, Dutkiewicz and Leach spent some of their time outside of KSE writing and recording the next Times of Grace album Songs of Loss and Separation, with a final finishing boost when COVID put touring to a global halt. The end result is a strong collection of songs with a decent load of crushing riff-fire and emotional lyrics, despite the music moving away from Gothenburg. Pure greatness!
Well, despite some metal in here, you can't expect everything to be, well, metal. There's barely any of the violent rage from heavier metal genres. What we have is something more spiritual, more rock-ish, more, dare I say, radio-friendly. Anyone with a negative view on metal can give this album a spin and, with the best of luck, end up changing that negative to a positive. Imagine taking the more melodic side of the second Killswitch Engage album Alive or Just Breathing and expanding on that. The more soothing while still heavy music and positive lyrics will make those people think twice before putting down metal as a whole.
In saying that though, I have to question what the band were doing with "The Burden of Belief". Nonetheless, it's beautiful and filled with lyrical faith. It's "Mend You" that really gives us the sound we need, a d*mn perfect rocker with optimistic vocals and harmonic nostalgia for both heavier metalheads and rock listeners. And no matter how radio-friendly it gets, I still love it. A more b*lls-out Breaking Benjamin, you might say. But they don't wimp out on their metal tendencies with the riff-tastic "Rescue".
"Far From Heavenless" has some Opeth-like prog, as Leach's lyrics help burn away any hate brought down onto religion. "Bleed Me" is mostly acoustic, but when the electric guitar pours in, it has a similar vibe to the slower more melodic Trivium songs. Once again turning into a bit of prog-metal is "Medusa".
Just hearing a bit of "Currents" can get you thinking of the band Currents and Fates Warning at the same time. Then "To Carry the Weight" is pretty much a modern-day response to Soundgarden. Now for a song titled "Cold", there's really a lot of gentle warmth. The 6 and a half minute closing track "Forever" ends the album beautifully to satisfy any listener and giving them something to look for in the future.
So what's not to f***ing love about this album? Songs of Loss and Separation continues what made this band and Killswitch Engage great, albeit exchanging most of their metalcore with something more pop-rock-ish in a way that is never sh*tty. And even in some of their radio-friendly moments, they can still sound metal as f***!
Favorites: "Mend You", "Rescue", "Bleed Me", "Currents", "Forever"