Review by Shannon Shumaker
Kayzo’s diverse sound defies genres and manages to merge sounds that normally wouldn’t make sense together. Throughout the entirety of his latest album, Unleashed, he breaks down barriers between pop, EDM, metalcore, post-hardcore and pop-punk with ease, creating a space all his own. While the marriage between metalcore and dance music isn’t a new concept by any means, Kayzo manages to do it in a way that both stands out from the pack and invites artists to try new things. Fifteen tracks in length, Unleashed features a different guest artist on every single song, ranging from Alex Gaskarth and Frank Zummo to Underoath and blessthefall.
If anything, Unleashed proves that Kayzo is set to pave the way for both EDM and metalcore artists. With more and more acts experimenting with new sounds or completely flipping the script with their new albums, Unleashed isn’t surprising by any means, but it is an exciting listen. While the album’s opening track is very EDM heavy, driven by catchy melody and clean vocals, blessthefall really takes the wheel on the explosive, “Before The Storm.” And that’s just the beginning. Track after track, Unleashed takes what you would expect from each artist and turns it on its head.
Many of the songs on Unleashed do feel very similar structurally, but keeping the album from feeling overly repetitive is the merging of different genres. Heavier songs like “Before The Storm” sit alongside brighter, more hopeful tracks like “Up In Flames,” meanwhile “Dark Skies” feels like a straight up drum and bass track. A high point on the album is “Lost,” which starts off very slow and emotional but completely explodes once the drop hits. The same can be said for “LA Never Says Goodbye” as well.
Throughout the entirety of Unleashed Kayzo manages to beautifully balance light and dark. Chaotic songs like “ARK” and Antidance” are balanced out by slower songs like “Night Terror” and the poppier “Fight For Love.” Providing the perfect ending is the bright “Our Times Run Out,” bookended by the stunning “Cruel Love.” Through his understanding of different genres and sounds, Kayzo manages to perfectly taylor each song to the artist featured without losing what makes him tick, and it makes for an exciting to listen to release.
LISTEN TO: “Up In Flames”
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