New York post-hardcore/pop punk band I Am the Avalanche pumped out another amazing record with the release of its third studio album “Wolverines” on March 18 through I Surrender Records.
The band’s drummer Brett “The Ratt” Romnes produced the album.
Since first listening to I Am the Avalanche, it has quickly become one of my favorite bands.
While I can’t really relate to the lyrics, I can picture what vocalist Vinnie Caruana has gone through or wants to put out lyrically.
This is the case with “Wolverines.”
When I first listened to “Wolverines,” I wasn’t impressed because I thought it sounded a lot like the previous album, “Avalanche United.”
That is not to say I didn’t like “Wolverines,” but it felt like it was the second part of “Avalanche United.”
The more I listened to “Wolverines,” the more it grew on me.
I first heard the first single “The Shape I’m In” on Jan. 8, I couldn’t help but listen to it several times.
The song ate up what I was listening to that day.
I also couldn’t help but pick up my guitar and try to learn the chord progression.
The song is about Caruana’s back surgery and the physical pain he was in. He said he was in the most physical pain he has ever been in at the time of writing the lyrics to this song and then-guitarist Mike “Sanchez” Ireland came up with a “killer guitar riff.”
Another song I really enjoyed from this album is the second single that was released Feb. 25 “Where Were You.”
The song starts with a distorted guitar played softly behind Caruana’s straining vocals.
The song is obviously about a person who was once in Caruana’s or another band member’s life and left.
It seems similar to a significant other who turned her back on the person who wrote the lyrics.
The other song I found myself playing more than others was
“Young Kerouacs.”
The first thing that stuck out to me about this song is the music.
I have mentioned in my several other reviews that I listen to the music first.
I want to see if the guitar sounds good or if it sounds like a cheap riff that every beginner can play if they are in the right tuning.
“Young Kerouacs” was no different.
The song starts with a hard charging guitar riff that doesn’t let up throughout the song.
Lyrically, the song seems to be about two young thrill seekers.
Caruana said he is one of them but could die at any moment.
One line of the song that explains this is “I’ll be looking after you when I’m dead and buried.”
Overall, “Wolverines” was a solid record.
I liked listening to every song and have replayed it quite a bit since I got it and it will probably find its way back into my ears several times.
I Am the Avalanche turned in its most mature performance with this album and grew more on the anthem-type songs it has written in the past.
“Wolverines” is 31 minutes and 18 seconds long and can be purchased on iTunes for $7.99 and the Google Play store for $8.99.
