...But I'm pretty sure that if this album is given a chance, it's going to appeal to all of Bleeding Through's older fans, as well as help them win over many new ones. With the major success (at least in the indie world) of their last album "This Is Love, This Is Murderous", Bleeding Through have emerged almost two and half years later to unleash their feverish follow up "The Truth". The title is almost ironic, as the real "truth" is that this is going to be a hard album for BT fans to swallow at first, but after a while it may turn out to be one of the band's most accomplished efforts (but not their best). Everything that made them brutal and appealing before is still intact, while new elements have been introduced to help them further expand and develop their sound. To sum it up, they've grown a lot in the time since the last album.

Ok so first things first. How are the vocals? Well don't worry it's not totally filled with emo choruses or tons of clean singing. Brandan sings a lot more regularly this time around, but his massive screams are still widely present. In fact this is probably the best his screaming has ever sounded on any record. 6 songs off the record feature clean vocals, mostly the choruses (one song "Line In The Sand" is sung entirely with clean vocals), but it doesn't hurt the album too much. In fact songs like "Return To Sender" and "Love In Slow Motion" feature excellent melodic singing during the chorus which makes both of them much better. But to go along with every melodic piece, BT throws out a heavy monster like "Confession" and "Hollywood Prison". Most likely for older Bleeding Through fans, the increased melodic singing might be a hard to adjust to at first, but after a while they grow on you. They are incredibly catchy after all. However the biggest misconception is that the whole record has been watered down and lacks the heaviness of previous outings. This is certainly not the case. In fact "The Truth" shows off some of the heaviest material the band has ever written, and 5 of the 11 songs sound like they could have easily come from any of the band's previous albums (Please note I'm not counting "The Truth" as an actual track, since it's an instumental).

Musically the band is just as heavy, if not heavier than they ever were. The guitars still astonish and pummel constantly. The riffing is excellent, and (musically) the choruses are written extremely well, especially in "Kill To Believe" and "Love In Slow Motion". There's some great leads and solos strung through out the album as well, which shows an understanding of moderation and not bogging the listener down with their technical skill. The drumming is flawless as usual (Derek is in top form) and every part of every song is played to perfection. The biggest change musically though is having Marta be a much more important aspect of the band. Although she's been with them for a long time, her playing has never been shown off very much in the past. This time around it seems like they made her the official sixth member (and instrument) of the band instead of just having her as a background element. "For Love And Failing" and "Confession" are two of the best examples of how this has become a bigger part of the band's sound. For the most part Bleeding Through has not changed that much musically. They're still brutal. They still play some of the heaviest breakdowns around ("Kill To Believe", "Hollywood Prison") and they can be just as catchy as they are devastating.

However even with the great improvements the band has taken, "The Truth" is far from perfect. First off Brandan's lyrics are not so hot. They've never been the most thoughtful or engaging things I've ever listened to, but this time around some have gotten a lot worse. I mean listening to him croon "Do you remember on that night I couldn't find the words to say I'm Sorry?" and "If you believe in Love would you believe in me?" ("Kill To Believe") is extremely lame. Not to mention songs like "For Love And Failing" and "Love In Slow Motion" are no better. I mean singing about love is cool and all every once in a while, but today it's done so much. The especially cheesy lyrics that Brandan pulls out just don't help very much. Some songs just don't come together well either. "Line In The Sand" is a total miss, and sounds more like an 80's power ballad than anything you'd expect to hear on a Bleeding Through record. In other places songs are moving along fine until the melodic singing kicks in, like "For Love And Failing" and "Dearly Demented". Lastly and most importantly though, Brandan just tries too hard sometimes. I like his clean vocals and all, but I think most can agree that he is much better off when he's screaming, then trying to belt out dynamic choruses, which is something he was never that good at. His vocals don't sound atrocious, but comparing songs like "Hollywood Prison" to "Dearly Demented" is no contest. They should really emphasize their strengths rather than trying to fit in with what's popular.

"The Truth" isn't going to be an easy record for most fans to accept at first. In some ways it's Bleeding Through moving away from the sound they originally mastered, and drifting further and further into the enormously popular melodic hardcore sound of today, but in other's it's simply Bleeding Through trying to attempt new things and still keep their music fresh for their fans. In certain places they have succeeded, in others not so much. Whatever you liked about the band, be it their raging metal sound, their heaviness, or their melodic tendencies, there's going to be something to please everyone on this record. It's not the best of their discography (pick up "Portrait Of The Goddess" or even "This Is Love, This Is Murderous" for that) but it's fine addition to the library. Don't write it off before listening. "The Truth" is here.

When people hear Brandan's clean vocals being more prominent, they may be put off, but I feel that it is a logical progression for them, and it doesn't sound bad at all. I love Brandan's clean singing. The songs on here are (excuse the cliche) more pissed off. These songs are heavier and faster than This Is Love. The guitars are still good, nothin to complain about there. I wish you could hear the bass more. The keyboards! Marta has taken the keyboards from the background of the songs to become a prominent instrument. It follows the music well. And the drumming? It's Derek... Thats all that needs to be said. He's no Flo Mounier, but he's a hell of a drummer. He can blast like the best of them. There are times that this cd will be stuck in my head for days, because parts of it are so catchy. I love this cd, and everything they put out. Portrait Of The Goddess is the best, but this is a close second.

This record came out right at the beginning of this year, and while the whole metalcore scene is still pretty popular, it will fade in the next few years, much like the thrash scene did at the turn of the 1990s. When that happens, bands will fade and bands will last. I wasn't too sure about Bleeding Through, but after hearing this record, I can definitely see this band making records in 2016, while some other bands (as good as they may be) fade into obscurity. Why? Because Bleeding Through are smart. They know that they can't keep making record after record with every song having chug-chug breakdowns. That would've been like Metallica making Master of Puppets over and over again. So is The Truth less "danceable" than the previous records? Yes. Does that make it any less good? Absolutely not. People who complain about this band and other bands not having enough breakdowns need to realize that while breakdowns are great and fun to dance to, there is more to the music than just chugging on an open chord in dropped tuning. Bands evolve and mature. That's not always a good thing, but with Bleeding Through, it is. The songs are faster than ever before, the lyrics are better, and the production is even better than the last record. There is more singing this time, and it shows that Brandan can do more with his voice than screaming and growling. His singing voice is also much better than the days of Potrait of the Goddess. However, I do think they went a little overkill with the singing. Many of the songs also bleed together (no pun intended) due to recurring drum patterns and speed riffs. But aside from that, this is a strong record that has definitely set the standard for American metal in 2006. This year will see new albums from Unearth, It Dies Today, Dead to Fall, The Acacia Strain, and a slew of other metal and metalcore bands. Whether all their albums hold up to The Truth...well, that remains yet to be seen. Standout tracks include "For Love and Failing", "Kill to Believe", and "Tragedy of Empty Streets".

I wasn't too into this upon first listen, but it grew on me. The singer has a very good screaming voice, and about 80% of the time his singing voice fits with their songs. What I don't like, and this is just an opinion, is that they throw keyboards in here and there. Without the keyboards, this is a very good, straight-forward hardcore band. A more new-school, heavier version of Unbroken if you will. They sing a lot of songs about not getting tail, which gets old after a while. After every song, I find myself thinking- bro, there are more fish in the sea. But, to their credit, they are one of the better bands out there today when they don't do all the trendy stuff. I'd prefer to see them not trying to hard to do the keyboard thing that a lot of bands feel compelled to do for some godawful reason these days.

I have been anticipating this album for a long time and finally the day has come at last- the release of Bleeding Through's new album "The Truth". I don't think it is really like "This is Love, This is Murderous". Obviously there is a lot of singing on this album but the guitars sound thrashier and the drumming is faster on a more consistent basis. Also Brandon's screaming sounds different, I actually think he sounds more hardcore than the last record. I really like the keyboard playing. Finally you can hear Marta most of the time and it stands out a lot more. I think this is a good idea, I really like how it sounds. I was really impressed with the ballad "Line in the Sand". I think Brandon has a great singing voice and I love when the guitars and keyboard comes in, it's awesome. The only thing is that it sounds kind of out of place compared to the rest of the album's heaviness. I give it a thumbs up though.

Overall a pretty damn good album. The guitar's are heavy as hell and the chorus's are very catchy and I think they will be stuck in my head for a long time. Phenominal drumming by Derek as always. He is one of the best out there. The reason why I didn't give it a 5 is because it is not a perfect album, it is very good but not great, on the next album they could rise to a 5.