THE RECONCILED: Skin and Bones
The Reconciled have been unleashed upon this unsuspecting world. Not familiar you say? Well take part XL (from XL &DBD rap hard rock/metal aficionado’s) and take part Dale Thompson, mash it together and you get a melodic tour de force of driving groove based melodic hard rock/metal.
This album isn’t a ‘rap rock’ album so lets just eliminate that right now. There is a ton of groove courtesy of XL who plays ALL of the instruments and just rips it up. Lead guitar!! CHECK!! Scorching and so welcome to these ears. Ah like a soothing balm he provides a melodic backdrop that Dale delivers over the top of and deliver he does. His vocal performance on this release is simply stellar.
If you have heard the lead single and title track “Skin & Bones” on the radio (Heaven’s Metal Streaming Radio? CHECK!) then you already know what is coming. Highly memorable songs that will force you go back and hit the replay button (or is that the ‘loop’ tab??) I don’t know. However memorable melodies about here, weather it’s album opener ‘Fallin By the Wayside’ or album closer ‘Devils Smoke.’ You will definitely find these songs sinking their hooks into you.
The production is very organic and evenly spaced allowing the music to breathe with the vocal elements given space and the listener time to breathe. Which is something I’ve noticed hasn’t been the case in a lot of Dale’s project bands, often his vocals run over it all it seems which prevents the listener from discovering what’s underneath.
Lyrically Dale covers a vast array of topics from Judas Iscariot to sexual relations before marriage (and a whole in between!) Personally his discussion of Judas in the album closer ‘Devils Smoke’ has some rather amazing images “In the winepress of deception/ in the vineyard of drunkenness/ I staggered into the one /I loved from the gutter of my depression/ Feeding the lust of my desire/ I betrayed my God above…” struck me as exceptionally powerful.
So much energy in these songs that you cant help but move and sway as you listen to them. Without a doubt this is the best Dale Thompson project outside of Bride in this writers opinion. XL delivered such a high quality palette musically it’s hard to imagine this release not pleasing fans of his and fans of Bride period. Roxx Records has a home run on their hands here.
Grab a copy of The Reconciled ‘Skin and Bones’ You will be doing yourself a favor as you dive into one of the best releases of 2022 so far.
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