By Nicolas Henderson
Staff Writer
@happenstance98
It has been a long six years, but Collective Soul fans can finally see what the band started by continuing, with the release of its ninth album, See What You Started By Continuing.
The six years in between the new release and 2009’s self-titled record hasn’t been a hiatus though. In 2012, it acquired current drummer Johnny Rabb, as the band embarked on a nationwide tour performing the 1999 release Dosage in its entirety.
Lead vocalist Ed Roland started a new band in his downtime, as did his younger brother and rhythm guitarist Dean Roland. The beginning of 2014 saw a band that promised a new album and a 20th anniversary tour to go with it.
The year did not quite go as expected.
In January, the band announced that lead guitarist (it’s second) Joel Kosche, had decided to leave the band to focus on his solo career. In May of the same year, Kosche made a post on his Facebook accusing Ed Roland of having his manager kick him out of the band in December 2013, and claimed that he had no intention on quitting the band to focus on his solo career.
The band recruited Jessie Triplett to handle lead guitar duties. While the band did offer fans a preview of the record on Christmas in 2014, the year ended with no new release.
That brings us to July of this year, when fans finally got the news they were looking for. See What You Started By Continuing released on Oct. 2.
See What You Started starts off with the first single, “This”, a straightforward rock song with a catchy hook. The album really begins to shine when you reach track three, the angry rocker “Exposed”. It has been years since Collective Soul have released a track this raw and intense.
Song four, “Confession” is another highlight. It starts off with a verse that brings listeners back to the experimental soundscapes of Dosage before breaking into a classic Collective Soul riff heavy chorus.
The back to back duo of track six, “Contagious”, and track seven, “Life”, is one of the strongest sections of any Collective Soul albums. “Contagious” is probably about as vintage Collective Soul as it gets, with a grungy, riff-heavy verse followed by an uplifting chorus. It is the epitome of Ed Roland’s songwriting strengths.
“Life” follows the same format from a guitar perspective, but it is accompanied by a dynamic mix of tribal drum beats powered by drummer Johnny Rabb. The track is a great mix of old Collective Soul combined with uncharted musical territory for the group.
The final tracks of the album are just as strong, in all reality there is really no weak section of the album.
“Memoirs of 2005” and “Tradition” see the album taking a mellow turn, with layered guitar sounds and echoing soundscapes accompanying Ed Roland’s strong vocal parts, and even a spoken word verse in “Tradition”. There seems to be a bit of an R.E.M. influence on guitar in these tracks, which makes sense considering both bands are from Georgia.
After six years, Collective Soul has finally delivered its album, and it was well worth the wait. This is easily its best work since 2000’s Blender. Roland has promised fans that there won’t be a gap between albums this long ever again, and considering how good they are sounding with the new lineup right now, I hope he is not lying.
