You Are We is ‘The Most Important Album Ever’ boasts ‘Some Magazine’ on the album’s promotional posters. The comedic hyperbole is a huge middle finger to music critics, and the superficial weight given to journalism as a measure of an album's worth – although You Are We itself has been met with critical acclaim – but the sentiment isn’t far from the truth. In a time of societal despair and isolation, While She Sleeps confronts the bleak backdrop of the modern world and challenges us individually and as a society to change it.
While She Sleeps are well known for their raw aggression, explosive riffs, and lyrics that berate political and societal injustice, and now in a year that has seen a psychopath elected the leader of one of the world’s biggest nations, a referendum that has divided our nation and fuelled hatred towards minorities, perpetual and callous violence in the middle east, and growing exploitation of the poor to line the pockets of bankers and politicians, While She Sleeps channels every iota of rage and despair into an album that stands as a monument to moral decline. ‘I’ll let the state of the world speak for itself’, Loz screams in ‘Revolt’ before the double pedal and distorted guitar section punches you in both ears.
But You Are We is also about hope, about togetherness, and the light at the end of the tunnel. Make no mistake, You Are We is an angry album: lyrically, tonally, and musically. But for every scream and dirty riff laid down, there is a delicate clean passage and crowd vocals that call for unity and peace. The album title is of no small significance; it’s the tonal bedrock for every song. You Are We is all about equilibrium between light and dark, about hope and despair, violence and peace, isolation and unity. I’m almost surprised there isn’t a yin and yang symbol on the cover. Songs like Civil Isolation and Hurricane depict a world beyond redemption: ‘It’ll take a hurricane to clean up all the mess we made’, whereas You Are We and Feel call out for unity and change: ‘Let’s feel this together’.
While She Sleeps are well known for their raw aggression, explosive riffs, and lyrics that berate political and societal injustice, and now in a year that has seen a psychopath elected the leader of one of the world’s biggest nations, a referendum that has divided our nation and fuelled hatred towards minorities, perpetual and callous violence in the middle east, and growing exploitation of the poor to line the pockets of bankers and politicians, While She Sleeps channels every iota of rage and despair into an album that stands as a monument to moral decline. ‘I’ll let the state of the world speak for itself’, Loz screams in ‘Revolt’ before the double pedal and distorted guitar section punches you in both ears.
But You Are We is also about hope, about togetherness, and the light at the end of the tunnel. Make no mistake, You Are We is an angry album: lyrically, tonally, and musically. But for every scream and dirty riff laid down, there is a delicate clean passage and crowd vocals that call for unity and peace. The album title is of no small significance; it’s the tonal bedrock for every song. You Are We is all about equilibrium between light and dark, about hope and despair, violence and peace, isolation and unity. I’m almost surprised there isn’t a yin and yang symbol on the cover. Songs like Civil Isolation and Hurricane depict a world beyond redemption: ‘It’ll take a hurricane to clean up all the mess we made’, whereas You Are We and Feel call out for unity and change: ‘Let’s feel this together’.
The band released five songs from the album before it dropped and with every new single, they set the bar higher and higher. When the title song was released, I sat back in my chair and thought, there’s no way they can top this, this has to be the best song they’ve ever written. And then Silence Speaks with Oli Sykes came out and they moved the goalposts again, and again with Feel. I’m not alone in the idea that these singles are by far some of the best songs While She Sleeps has ever written, but does the rest of the album hold up to the same quality? Of course you’d want to release your best songs to sell an album, but I can confidently say yes. The other songs on the album took me a couple more listens to feel the same goose bumps, but I’ve been playing several new songs as much as I did the older ones. Settle Down Society, Revolt and In Another Now are easily as good as the singles, and the rest of the songs aren’t far off. I wasn’t a big fan of the opening of Wide Awake at first, and I’m still not sure I like it that much, but the rest of the song is full of big riffs and sing-along choruses. Considering the quality of While She Sleeps’ previous albums, I don’t say this lightly, but if I had to make a list of their best songs to date, I think at least half of that list would be from You Are We. I’ll say it now: this is the best album they’ve ever written. It’s just incredible. And the fact that they made this album independently is just another reason why they’re one of the most important bands in the metal genre. Their independence isn’t tangential to the lyrical themes of the album; it’s everything they stand for, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
You Are We reaches new highs with its punching riffs and rhythmic force. It’s great to see even more of Sean’s vocals, too. He and Loz seem to trade off each other almost equally in this album, and their vocals complement each other perfectly in the different sections. I’d say that You Are We is probably the most melodic the band’s ever been, and this was a concern of mine when Hurricane dropped; much as I love that song, I wanted an album more aggressive than its tone. But conversely I think that, although the songs are a little less heavy, the heavy passages are angrier and more explosive than ever. Take the bridge of You Are We for instance. That’s got to be the dirtiest breakdown I’ve ever heard from them, and I just can’t wait to see it live. This is metalcore done right: heavy, angry verses and bridges, with emotional, melodic choruses that crowds will sing to the ether.
You Are We feels like the pinnacle of the band’s trajectory: everything the last two albums and The North Stands for Nothing has built up to. Knowing While She Sleeps, they’ll blow this out of the water in a few years’ time, but for now we can revel in the absolute lyrical and musical masterpiece that is You Are We. Okay, maybe the most important album ever is a stretch, but it’s definitely one of the most important albums right now, especially in the metal scene, and considering the state of politics and society. I’ll say it again: it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.
You Are We reaches new highs with its punching riffs and rhythmic force. It’s great to see even more of Sean’s vocals, too. He and Loz seem to trade off each other almost equally in this album, and their vocals complement each other perfectly in the different sections. I’d say that You Are We is probably the most melodic the band’s ever been, and this was a concern of mine when Hurricane dropped; much as I love that song, I wanted an album more aggressive than its tone. But conversely I think that, although the songs are a little less heavy, the heavy passages are angrier and more explosive than ever. Take the bridge of You Are We for instance. That’s got to be the dirtiest breakdown I’ve ever heard from them, and I just can’t wait to see it live. This is metalcore done right: heavy, angry verses and bridges, with emotional, melodic choruses that crowds will sing to the ether.
You Are We feels like the pinnacle of the band’s trajectory: everything the last two albums and The North Stands for Nothing has built up to. Knowing While She Sleeps, they’ll blow this out of the water in a few years’ time, but for now we can revel in the absolute lyrical and musical masterpiece that is You Are We. Okay, maybe the most important album ever is a stretch, but it’s definitely one of the most important albums right now, especially in the metal scene, and considering the state of politics and society. I’ll say it again: it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.