Greeley Estates - No Rain, No Rainbow (Review)

Artist: Greeley Estates
Album: No Rain, No Rainbow
Label: Tragic Hero Records
Release Date: January 26^th
Genre: Post-hardcore
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Rating:

After leav­ing their mark on the scene with 2008’s Go West Young Man, Let The Evil Go East, Greeley Estates have returned with a sure to be shock­ing, heavy approach to their music, tak­ing every­thing to the next level of intense. After the sad end­ing of Science Records, Greeley found a new home on Tragic Hero Records and set off with Cory Spotts (Blessthefall, Job For A Cowboy) to cre­ate their newest record. Changing things up a bit, No Rain, No Rainbow takes Greeley to a much heav­ier play­ing field with a few new tricks up their sleeves.

From the get go with opener “Seven Hours,” the unre­lent­ing crunch of gui­tarists Alex Torres and Brandon Hackenson can’t be denied. While lent a hand by pro­duc­tion, the tight, warm tone is more than addict­ing and demol­ishes each song. The break­downs are well placed and intense while other sec­tions are ham­mered through well-structured riffs. The rhythm sec­tion is more than apt, but sadly plays lit­tle part on the record. Bassist David Ludlow barely seems present and while Chris Julian’s drum­ming is per­fectly arranged, there is never a real time for his work to shine through­out. Perhaps not the worst thing that could hap­pen to an album, but dis­ap­point­ing none-the-less.

As the band pounds through their songs, Ryan Zimmerman attacks each sec­tion thor­oughly with heavy screams and appro­pri­ate singsong-y parts. Sadly the lat­ter half of that lacks quite a bit on No Rain. The aim of this record may have been to improve the inten­sity of their live show with heav­ier num­bers, but it really retracted from the record hav­ing less of Zimmerman’s sig­na­ture clean vocals lay­ered on the album; it really helped Go West stand out. Zimmerman’s scream is deep and full, but not as unique as what he could bring with a full range of use includ­ing his clean section.

Helping the album along is a slew of guest spots. On “Jealousy Breeds Killing Sprees,” Craig Mabbit shows up and two mem­bers of Blessthefall, Jared and Beau, are on tracks as well. Jared takes his place on “Swim For Your Life” and Beau on “Lying Through Your Teeth Doesn’t Count As Flossing,” each lend­ing a help­ing hand. Lastly, on “Friends Are Friends For Never” and “I Shot The Maid” are The Irish Front vocal­ists. Friends and names you know always help a record feel homier, and Greeley have suc­ceeded in that part at the very least.

Creating an extremely heavy record that suf­fers from being the fol­low up to what could be Greeley’s pin­na­cle record, No Rain, No Rainbow is any­thing but child’s play. The heavy riffs and per­fect pro­duc­tion beg to be noticed. The record is not with­out its blem­ishes, but is full and enthralling in its own right.

Track Listing:
1. Seven Hours
2. I Shot The Maid
3. Loyal.com
4. Friends Are Friends For Never
5. They Won’t Stay Dead
6. Jealousy Breeds Killing Sprees
7.Lying Through Your Teeth Doesn’t Count As Flossing
8. Swim For Your Lives
9. You’ll Never Leave Vegas Alive
10. Wolves Make Great Actors
11. The Offer

Similar To: The Word Alive, Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Blessthefall

Review by: Matthew C.

1. Greeley Estates Breed New Song
2. Greeley Friends