Firsly, we hate the use of the term “sophmore” in music writing circles. It’s like they think there’s some kind of intrinsic link between the US school system and musical conversations. Seriously, what’s wrong with the word “second”? How to make an album write-up less pretentious; embrace the letter 2 and cap it off with an N and a D (insert Mitch Hedburg impression where available). Anyway, now that disgusting rant is over and done with, Sleigh Bells have just put out their second album, Reign of Terror, and in many ways it’s another squared punch to the head from the Brooklyn duo.
True Shred’s got a brilliant tongue in shred guitar cheek feel to it that still dominates even if it isn’t necessarily intentional. Follow up (honestly, there are options) track, Born to Lose is one of the best on Reign of Terror. It’s darker than the more recognisable songs from the debut album, but it’s still heavy hooked and big belled, especially with the ending guitar riff.
Crush continues things well with subtle vocals and a great mix of drum-box beats and crunching guitars. End of the Line is a bit more melodic and relaxed, despite the counterpoint of the speed of the vocals in the chorus. Leader of the Pack takes a dark dive with flashes of starry notes to lighten it up with.
Single release, Comeback Kid, isn’t quite as impressive as it could be with a little too much Cali-girl pop in the bag. This is the direct opposite of Demons, which is all too easy metal to impress.
Road to Hell has got 80s soundtrack reinvention written all over it and while there’s an element of sparsity to it, it’s also sort of deep, especially when you sing it in your head while looking at your arch-nemesis or something similar.
You Lost Me is a bit soft and easily the lowest point on the album. Things don’t really pick up too much on Never Say Die, which is frankly a bit annoying. Sadly, it’s a theme that continues into the last track on Reign of Terror, D.O.A. We guess it gets kind of hard to thrash your way through an entire album, but the changes of direction on Sleigh Bells’ 2nd album, Reign of Terror, don’t really compliment the stronger tracks enough.
Sleigh Bells Reign of Terror album review: 3.4/5
