SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: I PREVAIL – VIOLENT NATURE

I PREVAIL
VIOLENT NATURE
FEARLESS RECORDS

When I Prevail rose to prominence from Metro Detroit, Michigan, in 2013, from viral covers to Grammy nominations, the metalcore/post-hardcore band has seen a vast amount of success over the past 12 years of their career. From the gold status 2016’s Lifelines achieved in both the United States and Canada, 2019’s TRAUMA repeating this accomplishment in Canada, to their notable Grammy nomination for Best Rock album and “Bow Down” for Best Metal Performance, I Prevail would accent this success with 2022’s TRUE POWER, showing a level of creative energy and willingness to continue to bend expectations of what their sound could be. While all this success shows a band on a constant trajectory for greatness, no one plans for the unfortunate turn of events when a band member has to leave due to medical reasons that prevent them from further pursuing their career as a vocalist in the band. As the band marches forward with the new album release, Violent Nature, this isn’t only a turning point for the band, but an album that sets the stage for Eric Vanlerberghe’s first expanded role as a vocalist. While many would naturally have doubts after sharing history with Brian Burkheiser for a lengthy part of their career, fans can rest easy knowing that Violent Nature is more than a stepping stone for the band, but one that shows a efficacious level of creative exploration and emotional rawness the band has presented despite such a great loss of vocal brilliance to an already metal powerhouse of a band.

When listening to Violent Nature, this album functions as two things: A new chapter to brave uncharted waters of innovative sound structures and expanded vocal roles, and also a sophisticated psychological excavation, where chaos and emotional clarity artfully blend into one. Starting with the pink elephant in the room, there is something very obvious in I Prevail’s sound that feels like a blanket wrapped around a barbed-wire bat. Heavy and aggressive from start to finish, there are these pockets of melodic, grungy, melancholic vulnerability in songs like “Crimson Clover,” “Pray,” “Stay Away,” and “Synthetic Soul” that provide a level of emotional delivery that has reshaped the typical soundscapes of I Prevail due to Vanlerberghe’s dualistic vocal abilities. Then there are these rich, gravid moments, such as the opening track “Annihilate Me,” “God,” “NWO,” and “Violent Nature” that exorcise a different kind of sonic aggression within the album, externalizing a lot of the internal suffering that coats the entire album. While lyrically there are stronger moments than others, a lot of this is easily looked over as I Prevail has given this album a strong instrumental backbone that even for more hard-nosed moments like “God,” and “NWO,” it further extends the high points of self-dialogue, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion that exist in other tracks like “Crimson Clover,” “Rain,” “Stay Away,” and “Synthetic Soul,” tracks on this album that even with Burkheiser’s noticeable absence of his unique and powerful vocal presence, display Vanlerberghe’s strengths in his impassioned and clean vocal delivery. The use of drum and bass and industrial, grimy soundscape aesthetics like “NWO” and “Synthetic Soul,” shows genre fluidity that gives the album a bit of that extra push in diversifying its vastly heavy landscape. While other prominent bands like Architects have used the same sound techniques in their instrumental design, I Prevail still utilizes this approach in a way that is organic and intertwines successfully with their disruptive instrumental walls of crunching guitars and head-crushing percussive work, balancing brutality and introspective emotional pacing that feels more like a purge and rebirth, and in many ways feels like it’s intended to be such.

Violent Nature is an album that will have a lot of different opinions surrounding it. While some might feel it “doesn’t live up to the expectations” that TRUE POWER’s sound delivered, there is another side to this that is not being explored. Yes, Burkeiser’s absence is very much felt in this album, but in no way, shape, or form did the talent leave with him. Songs like “Pray,” “Stay Away,” “Synthetic Soul,” and “Violent Nature,” convey a band that has done some pretty impressive behind-the-scenes work on rebuilding itself after having a big part of their musical identity leave. Violent Nature in itself is a sonic journey of rediscovering an identity that does not exist with Burkheiser. Within the album’s psychological unraveling and rebirth exists a space of transition while still retaining I Prevail’s sonic ritual of exploring and commitment to storytelling. Violent Nature is a journey about rising above the anxiety and mental exhaustion that comes with starting over. While this part of the band’s evolution might feel “boring” to some, something to take from Violent Nature is that it’s honest. It doesn’t try to reinvent or push boundaries; if that is what people were wanting from this album, this isn’t that and maybe shouldn’t be looked at as that. It’s a band being truthful about its internal and external sacrifices and struggles as they descend into a new chapter of their lives, ones that may be unpleasant, but ones that are essential to growing as a band and individually. If one can see Violent Nature as that, it’s a solid release instrumentally and lyrically worth the listen and an introspective indulgence into a band that is trying their best to move past what would be a difficult time for any band and still came out swinging with a great album.

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