Band:	Times Of Grace
Album:	Songs Of Loss And Separation
Style:	Melodic metalcore
Release date:	July 16, 2021
A review by:	omne metallum

01. The Burden Of Belief
02. Mend You
03. Rescue
04. Far From Heavenless
05. Bleed Me
06. Medusa
07. Currents
08. To Carry The Weight
09. Cold
10. Forever

Songs of loss and (lower your) expectations.

When it was announced that Times Of Grace would be releasing a new album ten years after the release of their excellent debut album, The Hymn Of A Broken Man, it was an intriguing prospect, given that the first record provided a chance to reunite the then-erstwhile Killswitch Engage vocalist Leach with said band's main man Adam Dutkiewicz for the first time in nine years. The question this then raises is where would a new Times Of Grace find itself now that Leach has rejoined Dutkiewicz in Killswitch for the better part of ten years?

Simply put, Songs Of Loss And Separation finds itself spending more time carving out its own identity than it does making quality songs that will genuinely excite you. If you were expecting another album in the mould of the band's debut or of the two member's day jobs, then this album will only touch at the fringes of your expectations rather than fully scratching the itch.

Does this mean that Songs Of Loss And Separation is a bad album? Thankfully no, while it does not reach the heights you would likely expect of it on paper, it does have its moments where it produces tracks that will catch your interest and give purpose to repeated listens. Chief among them are "Rescue", "Cold" and "To Carry The Weight", three tracks that give you good reason to listen to this collection of songs and help give purpose to band's revival.

The band's focus on the melodic aspect of their sound over the metalcore part does provide moments in songs that shine under the increased spotlight provided to them, with the airy bridge towards the end of "Medusa" or the building atmosphere and crescendo on "Cold" being some of the best here. This new focus also helps highlight aspects of the band's talents that are not given as much credit elsewhere, with Leach's soft and clean vocals being front and centre and his harsh vocals reduced to a bit part; couple this with the melodic guitar parts of Dutkiewicz on tracks like "Mend You" and this album hits its stride.

What really hinders Songs Of Loss And Separation is the all-too-apparent need by the band to differentiate this project from their day jobs and stamp its own identity on this album. While there are moments of cross-pollination here and there (the second halves of "Cold" and "Rescue", along with the spine of "Medusa"), they are limited, and, from a listener's perspective, unnecessarily so.

This feeds into the other big problem with the album, that being the mid-to-slow pace that is omnipresent throughout, leading to a painful lack of variety and a sense of lethargy when this album is listened to for more than 2-3 tracks at a time. Had there been more moments like "Rescue" dotted around, then this album would be vastly improved with the welcome addition of more tempo variation. A track like "Currents" would fit better on the band's debut album, given it would be in a more diverse environment, whereas here it is just another slow track that fades into the blur.

What you get out of Songs Of Loss And Separation will largely be dictated by your expectations going into the record. If you were expecting another record in the mould of the debut then you will likely get limited enjoyment out of this album; if you are a fan of the melodic and more atmospheric moments of the band members' work then you will likely really enjoy what you are served up here. All in all, it is a well done record but not necessarily the one you were expecting to hear when you hit play.