Last Friday saw the release of We Came As Romans’ fourth and self-titled album, and the Michigan six-piece has produced a record more alternative rock than ever before.
We Came As Romans is an ideal album for fans of bands who mix clean and harsh vocals; Kyle Pavone and Dave Stephens’ vocals work really well together, and help to influence the mood of each track.
It’s difficult to pin this album down and define it as one genre. While the six-piece seems to be leaning more and more towards alternative rock as time goes on, there are still enough breakdowns and verses with harsh vocals to hark back to their more metalcore roots. I’m especially fond of the closing track of the record, 1230, which is a great summation of the bands’ sound.
My main criticism of We Came As Romans is that, for a fourth full-length album, it’s pretty short. The record is made up of 10 tracks and clocks in at just over 33 minutes long. Speaking to Kerrang! in May, vocalist Dave said that the band “wrote close to 40 songs for this record and only ten made the album”. With so much potential material, the bands’ decision to only release 10 of these songs on the original release is a little disappointing.
Overall, the album is a strong effort, and each song had enough unique features that they didn’t blend into one, which can happen easily on records of this genre. We Came As Romans’ latest album is well suited for fans of Of Mice & Men, Memphis May Fire or The Word Alive.
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Highlights: Regenerate, Who Will Pray?, Defiance
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