89. I Prevail - "True Power"

To compile this list I have listened to over six hundred albums. There were some where I knew, before I pressed play, that I would like them and there were some where from the start I would have to work very hard to be objective. Then there were the middle ground, the ones where I had seen the band’s name bandied but had no preordained idea of what I would get. I Prevail fall squarely into that category. I had always assumed that they were landfill post-hardcore, yet another band that was trying to emulate Glassjaw and At the Drive In. 

True Power turned out to be a very pleasant surprise indeed. It is a high-octane mix of slick commercial metal and traits from Metal’s more extreme avenues. It manages to be big and anthemic, but without fully divorcing itself from its brutal roots. The tracks are widescreen and Technicolor but it never lowers its self to the common denominator. Instead, it manages to stay fresh and interesting in a space where cheap reputation is king.