Today I sit down to write my review on the new album Reclamation put out by the band Mongrel. This is the first I’ve heard of the band and their work but according to their website this Massachusetts group formed in 2003. With this new album they also have a new lead singer with Jessica Sierra. On this CD there’s 12 songs that seems to be angry rock even though they are classified more as being a punk/heavy metal group. What I was hearing though just sounded like a group of angry people putting that anger into the songs.
To say that these songs are loud and gritty would a slight understatement. Reclamation is an album of thrashing songs that are being sung by lead vocals Jessica Sierra. Her voice is one that sounds like she’s been screaming all day and has just decided to lay down the vocals to the song. She’s raspy, she’s gritty, she’s loud, and she does not hide the rough edges of her voice. In fact this is one of the times that having the vocals rough works for the song more than if she had a smooth voice that fit the radio. At first I didn’t care much for the sound of her voice because it is so rough and scratchy. After listening a few more times I grew to find her voice bearable and fitting for the songs she was singing.
What caught me off guard were the lyrics to the songs. On first listen I caught just sections of the songs where I didn’t fully understand the meaning to the songs. Taken out of context the songs can actually sound quite horrible but after reading the lyrics I realized that the songs have a deeper meaning than just anger. Mongrel has done what is most overlooked with loud, gritty bands that scream a lot with lots of fast, intense songs, and that’s put meaning to their lyrics. I might not agree with some of the lyrics, some are at times pushing the limits, but they’re also not words that are put together because they rhyme and sound good. Reclamation is a rough sounding album that has a lot of energy put in it and though I wasn’t at times too into the music I also have to admit that it does pack a wallop when it comes to energy.