Times Of Grace – Songs of Loss and Separation (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24bit/44,1kHz | Time – 48:56 minutes | 576 MB | Genre: Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Wicked Good Records
Songs Of Loss and Separation, the sprawling second album from TIMES OF GRACE is insistent in its bluesiness, bleeding distortion and emotion, weaving effortlessly between pensive, heavy, midtempo rock riffs and atmosphere. The band’s sophomore effort and first since 2011 channels a haunting romanticism and deep spiritual yearning that collide in beautiful melancholy. The vocal interplay of Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach makes for a rich, dense, and enthralling concoction, powering through various trips through dark nights of the soul and mind-expanding excursions into the wild.
Forced immobility can be a great source of inspiration and Adam Dutkiewicz knows that all too well. After a back operation that forced him to rest in 2008, the guitarist and frontman of Killswitch Engage tried his hand at a new form of composition. The songs written around that time eventually spawned a side project, Times of Grace, whose debut album, The Hymn of a Broken Man, was released in 2011 and put together with the help of the former singer from his main band. This record allowed the musician to pause and try out a still-metallic register, but one with a darker and less frantic approach. Ten years later, a global epidemic once again forced Dutkiewicz to lock himself away in his studio waiting for better days to come. Songs Of Loss And Separation could have simply been a repeat performance, dusting off the same old recipe. But that would have been too easy. Still accompanied by singer Jesse Leach (who has since taken over at the microphone for Killswitch Engage), the guitarist-producer has refocused the band’s repertoire around more metalcore sounds (Rescue, Far from Heaven), which evoke his main project, with its emotional sensitivity that counterbalances the weight of its powerful riffs. This emotionality is undoubtedly what gives the album its most vivid moments, like The Burden of Belief and Forever, songs that let the pressure rise gradually which help to highlight Leach’s voice; and Songs Of Loss And Separation, a melancholic number with tones of Killswitch Engage. It seems that age has helped Dutkiewicz open up and even settle down a little, without losing any of his bite. – Chief Brody
Tracklist:
1. Times Of Grace – The Burden of Belief
2. Times Of Grace – Mend You
3. Times Of Grace – Rescue
4. Times Of Grace – Far From Heavenless
5. Times Of Grace – Bleed Me
6. Times Of Grace – Medusa
7. Times Of Grace – Currents
8. Times Of Grace – To Carry The Weight
9. Times Of Grace – Cold
10. Times Of Grace – Forever
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