Album review – A Day to Remember’s Bad Vibrations

As lead singer Jeremy McKinnon said in an interview, this album is heavier than the last three of their albums combined. While this may be the case, they were able to stay true to their sound and release one of their most cohesive albums to date, but have also left room for improvements.

A Day to Remember, notorious for their unique blend of the pop-punk and metalcore genres, has released their sixth studio album, Bad Vibrations, under their own ADTR Records. Following Common Courtesy (2013), this album pays homage to their heavier days. Their blend of catchy pop-punk choruses and bridges alongside heavy metalcore breakdowns is their formula to success, and this album exemplifies that it still works.

While the band may be sticking to their ever-successful “formula”, this album offers a more mature and developed version of their sound. For a lot of us, heavy music is a communal way to let our frustrations, and it’s to no surprise that arguably the heaviest ADTR album to date is also their more emotionally disconcerted. Struggling with a legal battle and well as personal troubles fueled the heavier sound to this album, bringing us back to the days of Homesick (2009).

Listening to an ADTR album, you can’t help but begin to imagine what this song would look like being played live, and the tracks off this record prove to not be any different. The album opens with the title track “Bad Vibrations” and immediately you are submerged in the trademark ADTR battle cry vocals alongside a seemingly heavier sound. This song allows McKinnon to sing of the “all consuming” bad vibrations he feels while the progression of the music backs up these feelings. This song vocalizes this pain McKinnon feels that he cannot escape.

The next two tracks, “Paranoia” and “Naivety”, were released as singles before the release of the album and did a great job of showcasing the broad spectrum of this album. This first features a “guns a blazing” sound equipped with standard breakdowns and a catchy chorus, while the second is an anthem for yearning for the simpler days.  Both leave a memorable impression on the listener.

“Exposed”, arguably the best track on the album, is comprised of a very old-school metalcore sound, catchy chorus, and heavy breakdown. Other songs like “Bullfight” and “Reassemble” also share this incredible potential for greatness.

This band writes for the stage, and it’s clear with this album. Heavy breakdowns, as repetitive as they may be with this album, cater to that circle-pit loving fanbase and when a lot of these songs hit the stage, the surroundings will likely be disrespected (pun intended).

As the album progresses we get songs like “Turn Off the Radio”, which ironically sounds molded perfectly for alternative radio airplay, and “Forgive and Forget” which just screams a cell phone lights aloft moment during a show. “We Got This” is an anthem for the broken, and you just can’t help but sing along. ADTR always delivers when it comes to catchy choruses that will be stuck in your head all day, and this album is no different.

While this album may not be the album to put ADTR down in the history books, it does a great job at showing why this band has been and still is on the forefront of rock and metal music. It’s very apparent that this band is transitioning into having a more mature sound, but one dimensional lyrics and underproduction are the ball and chains holding them back from greatness.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

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