BAND: IWRESTLEDABEARONCE
ALBUM: LATE FOR NOTHING
RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 6TH, 2013
LABEL: CENTURY MEDIA
RATING: 8/10
iwrestledabearonce are set to release their new album titled “Late For Nothing” on August 6th, 2013. If you aren’t familiar with the band, IWABO are a five piece Metal band out of Shreveport, Louisiana. After the release of “Ruining It For Everybody,” I have to say that I’m quite impressed with the changes the band has made since then. IWABO are known for their crazy musicianship but it seems the bear has finally been tamed on this new album.
First of all, let me say that Courtney LaPlante fits extremely well with the band on this new album. Her vocals pick up right where Krysta Cameron left off, if not better. “Late For Nothing” shows just how good the band can actually be. There are still some of those moments that will make you go, “Yep, this is the IWABO I know” but overall the album is a lot more mature than the previous ones. From more melodic sounding songs, to heavier hitting songs. “Late For Nothing” proves that the band are taking their music a bit more serious.
The album kicks off with “Thunder Chunky” which showcases the new structured sound with some intense moments of drumming, insane riffs, and the hard and clean vocals of Courtney. This is actually one of the better songs I liked on the album. While the album does tend to stray away from hooky choruses, “Letters To Stallone” has one of my favorite choruses and the clean vocals stand out tremendously in this song. “Mind The Gap” is one of the more slower melodic songs you will hear on the album.
“The Map” is only 2:41 but after hearing it I wish it would have been longer. This is by far my favorite song on the whole album, it has so much to offer in so little time. Everything shines in this song and it’s put together really well. 1:05 – 1:54 is my favorite vocal part from Courtney on the album. It also gets really melodic with the guitars in this time.
If you like older IWABO music then you should check out “I’d Buy That For A Dollar” and “It Don’t Make Me No Nevermind.“ These songs are a bit more chaotic sounding, I’d Buy That For A Dollar has a surprisingly catchy chorus, which stood out to me because the other songs on the album really didn’t have that.
Overall, this album is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t listened to IWABO before. Even if you weren’t a fan of their previous albums you should check Late For Nothing out. The band stepped up their game and I’m looking forward to seeing how they will progress in the future.
– Alex G.
