PRozak 'we all fall down' review
On the 17th of September ‘Strange music’ recording artist Prozak released ‘We all Fall down’. Prozak has always incorporated social and political issues on his albums but here he really brings it to the forefront. It's sad to see him lose a lot of his horror inspired stuff that was dominant on previous albums but Prozak shows off his versatility on this far more mellow sounding album. I have broken it down track by track to give you a deeper more in depth look at ‘We All Fall Down’.
Divided We Stand – A pretty nice intro to the album. It’s a slow burner that builds up tension but never really seems to go anywhere. It ends with the repetition of the phrase ‘don’t believe the lies you’ve been told’ which put into place the theme of questioning the government and authority which is prevalent throughout the album. Overall the song does set the tone for the rest of the album but as a stand-alone track is a bit boring (2.5 out of 5)
Audio barricade – The simple and minimalistic beat allows Prozak to show off is impeccable flow on this track. I quite like the idea of the song which I interpreted as being about using music as an ‘audio barricade’ to separate yourself from all the bullshit that surrounds us every day. The chorus comes across as a little lazy compared to the energetic and well delivered verses. (3 out of 5)
Just Like nothing – This is another mellow song and is pretty effective in conveying the deep and relatable message. The beat is a brilliant blend of fairly hard hitting kicks and snares and nice guitar strumming. My only gripe with the song is that I personally don’t think Prozak’s voice suits the ‘softer’ songs. It’s so low and sinister sounding I just feel it sounds slightly out of place on these kinds of tracks. However, that’s purely a personal opinion and asides form that this is a pretty decent track (3.5 out of 5)
The Ghost of injustice – interlude – NA
Blood Paved Road – This songs starts off with a beautiful bluesy almost country sounding guitar riff which is then added to with a nice simple head nod kind of beat making for a mellow yet funky song which fits nicely with the vibe of the rest of the album so far. Prozak’s flow is top notch and the lyrics speak out against racism which is always a good thing. The chorus is nice and catchy which just adds to what is already a great song. (4 out of 5)
Fading away – Again the songs starts with a nice strummed acoustic guitar riff. The song has a similar feel to the previous one. The music and verses are cool, Prozak rides the beat effortlessly, changing up his flow style several times whilst still staying on point with his lyrical content and never straying from his message. I do feel the female sang chorus is a little bit unexciting and doesn’t really add much to the song which is a shame because other than that it’s a great track. (3.5 out of 5)
Audio barricade – The simple and minimalistic beat allows Prozak to show off is impeccable flow on this track. I quite like the idea of the song which I interpreted as being about using music as an ‘audio barricade’ to separate yourself from all the bullshit that surrounds us every day. The chorus comes across as a little lazy compared to the energetic and well delivered verses. (3 out of 5)
Just Like nothing – This is another mellow song and is pretty effective in conveying the deep and relatable message. The beat is a brilliant blend of fairly hard hitting kicks and snares and nice guitar strumming. My only gripe with the song is that I personally don’t think Prozak’s voice suits the ‘softer’ songs. It’s so low and sinister sounding I just feel it sounds slightly out of place on these kinds of tracks. However, that’s purely a personal opinion and asides form that this is a pretty decent track (3.5 out of 5)
The Ghost of injustice – interlude – NA
Blood Paved Road – This songs starts off with a beautiful bluesy almost country sounding guitar riff which is then added to with a nice simple head nod kind of beat making for a mellow yet funky song which fits nicely with the vibe of the rest of the album so far. Prozak’s flow is top notch and the lyrics speak out against racism which is always a good thing. The chorus is nice and catchy which just adds to what is already a great song. (4 out of 5)
Fading away – Again the songs starts with a nice strummed acoustic guitar riff. The song has a similar feel to the previous one. The music and verses are cool, Prozak rides the beat effortlessly, changing up his flow style several times whilst still staying on point with his lyrical content and never straying from his message. I do feel the female sang chorus is a little bit unexciting and doesn’t really add much to the song which is a shame because other than that it’s a great track. (3.5 out of 5)
Three, Two, One – Suddenly we are hit with a complete change of pace and sound. Instead of the mellow keys and guitar riffs we have experienced so far, Prozak switches it up and spits over an aggressive rock beat. The apocalyptic theme is a nice follow on from themes and negativity found in the previous songs. The chorus reminds me of the kind of late 90’sand early 2000’s nu metal/rap rock era, which is a good thing. Overall this is a definite highlight for me. (4.5 out of 5)
Vendetta – Another rap rock banger. Prozak’s angry hate filled vocals work perfectly over the hard hitting drums and heavy guitar riffs but it’s the chorus that really makes this song stand out. Although it’s lyrically very basic. the delivery would make it ideal for a live setting and really captures the essence of the song. (5 out of 5)
Nowhere to run – A nice country sounding hip hop song which brings the levels and energy back down a notch but still manages to completely captivate the listeners. The hypnotic beat and country style sang chorus mixed with Prozak’s socially conscious verses delivered in his usual flawless manner makes for an all round brilliant song, which sees Prozak trying something very different to we’ve heard on previous albums. (5 out of 5)
Distress Call – I see what Prozak was trying to do with this track but I consider it more of an interlude than a real song. It is basically sound bites talking about a dystopian society (which Prozak considers our planet to be or to be soon) followed by a heavy metal riff with the words ‘no surrender’ shouted repeatedly. Its making a good point but at just over 1 minute long I can only give it (2 out of 5)
Darkest Shade of Grey – this is more of a rock song than a rap song, but that being said it’s done pretty well and Prozak swaps his rapid fire rap flows for a kind of semi sang semi rapped style that fits nicely with the music and makes for quite a good track (3 out of 5)
We All Fall down – Here we see Prozak bringing it back to the laid back style that seems to be dominant on this album. His political and social commentary is deep and interesting and work well with the mellow old school sounding beat. The female sang hook compliments the song nicely. (3.5 out of 5)
Shadow of mortality – interlude – N/A
Time – Time is a song about the time that artists miss out on doing normal things like being with their family by spending so much time on the road. It iss interesting to hear about the struggles of being a recording artist instead of all the glitz and glamour we are so often exposed to in contemporary hip hop. The female sang chorus fits kind of well but is not particularly interesting or exciting. (3 out of 5)
Before we Say goodbye – A powerful song to close what on the most part has been a great album. An emotive piano driven beat and a melodic sang chorus work effectively in conjunction with Prozak’s verses which paint a positive picture to end on after all the negativity found elsewhere on the album. It leaves the listener with a sense of hope and optimism. (4 out of 5)
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
Written By Matt Watkins
Published 31/09/13
Vendetta – Another rap rock banger. Prozak’s angry hate filled vocals work perfectly over the hard hitting drums and heavy guitar riffs but it’s the chorus that really makes this song stand out. Although it’s lyrically very basic. the delivery would make it ideal for a live setting and really captures the essence of the song. (5 out of 5)
Nowhere to run – A nice country sounding hip hop song which brings the levels and energy back down a notch but still manages to completely captivate the listeners. The hypnotic beat and country style sang chorus mixed with Prozak’s socially conscious verses delivered in his usual flawless manner makes for an all round brilliant song, which sees Prozak trying something very different to we’ve heard on previous albums. (5 out of 5)
Distress Call – I see what Prozak was trying to do with this track but I consider it more of an interlude than a real song. It is basically sound bites talking about a dystopian society (which Prozak considers our planet to be or to be soon) followed by a heavy metal riff with the words ‘no surrender’ shouted repeatedly. Its making a good point but at just over 1 minute long I can only give it (2 out of 5)
Darkest Shade of Grey – this is more of a rock song than a rap song, but that being said it’s done pretty well and Prozak swaps his rapid fire rap flows for a kind of semi sang semi rapped style that fits nicely with the music and makes for quite a good track (3 out of 5)
We All Fall down – Here we see Prozak bringing it back to the laid back style that seems to be dominant on this album. His political and social commentary is deep and interesting and work well with the mellow old school sounding beat. The female sang hook compliments the song nicely. (3.5 out of 5)
Shadow of mortality – interlude – N/A
Time – Time is a song about the time that artists miss out on doing normal things like being with their family by spending so much time on the road. It iss interesting to hear about the struggles of being a recording artist instead of all the glitz and glamour we are so often exposed to in contemporary hip hop. The female sang chorus fits kind of well but is not particularly interesting or exciting. (3 out of 5)
Before we Say goodbye – A powerful song to close what on the most part has been a great album. An emotive piano driven beat and a melodic sang chorus work effectively in conjunction with Prozak’s verses which paint a positive picture to end on after all the negativity found elsewhere on the album. It leaves the listener with a sense of hope and optimism. (4 out of 5)
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
Written By Matt Watkins
Published 31/09/13
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