This sounds like Sevendust, no shade intended. Having Matty on leads make their heavier stuff sound even less Anberlin-y to my ears.
Im really trying to keep an open mind about it, but it’s next to impossible for me to connect this new song with anberlin. I’ll definitely check out the studio version because I really love the bands music, but I’m irrationally bummed after seeing/hearing that.
Echoing the sentiments of others here, but yeah, that new track just isn't sticking. There's still the studio version to come, of course, but you can usually tell if it's "right" after a few listens.
went into both songs with an open mind. here are my thoughts. imo, by far the biggest weakness to Matty's vocals isn't his range or even any vocal layering - it's the inflection of his voice with certain sounds. he's trying too hard to annunciate sounds that would've come naturally to Stephen. musically, i actually like 7 and have no problems with the instrumentation, the songwriting, or even the screaming. it has everything to do with how forced he sings some of the words (particularly those near the lower middle part of his range). Walk Alone sounds like the band trying to appease the NTFP/Cities purists with something more conventional, and if Stephen was singing on it, i'd be fine with it. here, however, it sounds a tad generic, like an Anberlin tribute band instead of the actual thing. i have no clue whether the studio versions will sound better with Stephen doing BGVs, but i'll continue to keep an open mind and hope Matty can tone down how forced his inflection sounds (although given that he's supposedly been doing this with MMF forever, i doubt it).
Didn’t they say Christian was still going to be doing studio vocals? Him not being lead on the new songs is worrisome in the context of who will be on the recordings.
Stephen will still be on recorded songs. they indicated on IG a while back that the new album will have a mix of them both on leads.
I wonder how many guesses it would've taken for me to get the right band for that song, if I didn't already know going in.
Bought tickets but the stream is nonfunctional. Seems others are watching just fine but I have no sound and the video is frozen.
It’s gonna be wild when the next Anberlin LP magically turns into a secret third EP in my Apple Music library
To Anberlin! I love Sevendust and this song seems to have a certain post grunge/alt metal flair that I associate more with the latter than the former. That low tuned chuggy guitar riff and all
Show last night was fun. After party emo nite was fun as well. Watching the band jam out to the end of fin, I felt a great sense that they were doing what’s right for them. They fully deserve to keep the train moving and enjoy being in an active band. Not sure if I’ll see them live with Matty, but I’m happy they have a plan to keep moving.
their confidence in the plan is one of the reasons i haven't lost all hope just yet. even if i'm not entirely sold on Matty, i'm sure they're gonna try their best given the circumstances.
I still find this whole situation pretty wild. Happy for the band but it isn’t the same without Stephen.
My issue is they could have literally found a much better fit vocally for the band. Marty’s vocal style is miles away from Stephen’s so it’s a pretty strange choice in that regard.
Matty filled in for Stephen a couple months back when either Stephen couldn’t come last minute or was sick, can’t remember what happened. I’m guessing Matty is totally stoked to do it, and must get along with the guys, which honestly goes a long way if his primary role is performing and touring and secondary is recorded material.