Wow, excuse us for being a little late to the Palisades new music party. Courtesy of my Spotify Release Radar, I copped an earful of new track “War”, and fell instantly in love. Palisades have stepped UP!
The last we heard from the New Jersey based band was their self-titled album, released in early 2017 via Rise Records. In Palisades, we recognised the conversation between light and dark, and the question of how much to reveal of oneself. But (as I shared in my review) I was personally left feeling like I craved far more raw honesty without so much being contained or held back, especially vocally. I found myself a fan of “Through Hell” and “Let Down” in particular for this reason.
Well it seems that I’ve got my wish for less ‘pretty’ honesty with “War”. From its initial scream, we’re thrust head-first into a deep chasm of razor sharp riffs. Though the verse is more atmospherically subdued, drawing focus to the lyrics, the chorus fittingly ‘blows up’ in sound.
“War” is a mix of compassion as well as warning, along the lines of ‘You play with fire, expect to get burnt’. Immersing into the song, we’re taken into the perspective of someone that’s observing someone heading toward self-destruction, and wishing they’d take responsibility for it.
“You’re the only one to blame”
Musically, “War” combines crystalline moments – where electronic effects and synth are the focal point – with hefty all-surrounding rock severity, presented with massive guitar arsenal and screams. Though the bridge doesn’t necessarily deviate far away from the bluntforce message, it gives a momentary impression of losing grip of the connection they have to the person in question.
This new track definitely has me curious what else is going on in Palisades territory. Catch the live footage music video below, or stream via your favourite service.
