The next installment of Ryan’s Reviews is the new album “Skeletons” from Pop Evil. Before we dive into the songs, this was a very strong next record from this group. Plenty of big sounding, hard rock, in-your-face songs as well as a couple ballads. One thing I really love about this record are the guests on “Skeletons.” The album features guest vocals from Fit For A King’s Ryan Kirby, Devour The Day’s Blake Allison and Zillion.
Let’s dive in!
The opening track is “Arrival”, and it is a 22 second build-up to the opening portion of “Skeletons.” I love when albums have a good chunk just dedicated to get your adrenaline pumping and make you want to run through a wall which is what “Paranoid (Crash & Burn)”, “Circles” and “Eye Of The Storm” do. The opening third of “Skeletons” continues a lot of what Pop Evil did on their 2021 album “Versatile” that had a lot of big-feeling songs like “Let The Chaos Reign” and “Breathe Again.”
The fifth track “Sound Of Glory” features some of the experimentation with “Work” from the last record but more anthemic. If this is a track that gets played live, expect fans to be bobbing their hands, tapping their feet and clapping along (or patting your leg if you have a cold beverage in one hand).
Next on “Skeletons” is the title track and “Worth It.” As Pop Evil does with each record, they tap into that soft side of each rocker with both tunes. While both tracks slow things down a little bit, they have the feel of lifting people up much like previous songs “Survivor” and “If Only For Now.”
The eighth track on the album is “Who Will We Become.” The song picks back up the energy on the record and is right before a trio of songs with special guests. While it feels like the song might get lost in the shuffle a little bit, be sure to give it the attention it deserves! This song might just be the album’s hidden gem.
The album rounds out with “Wrong Direction” (featuring Devour The Day’s Blake Allison), “Dead Reckoning” (featuring Fit For A King’s Ryan Kirby) and “Raging Bull” (featuring Zillion). “Wrong Direction” gets the album ramped back up to give “Skeletons” a very strong finish. The song does a great job getting you prepped for the heaviest song on the record, “Dead Reckoning.” With Ryan Kirby’s additional it shows Pop Evil aren’t afraid to dabble in metalcore. This is the heaviest song on the album and one of my personal favorites. The album’s final song is “Raging Bull” featuring Zillion who previously went on tour with Pop Evil. It’s a strong song to round out “Skeletons” providing another hard-rocking tune that will be sure to make you bang your head.
Score: 
out of 5.
