The Death of Peace of Mind

 


The Death of Peace of Mind was released in 2022

Track Listing:
1. Concrete Jungle
2. Nowhere to Go
3. Take Me First
4. The Death of Peace of Mind
5. What It Cost
6. Like a Villain
7. Bad Decisions
8. Just Pretend
9. The Grey
10. Who Are You?
11. Somebody Else.
12. IDWT$
13. What Do You Want from Me?
14. Artificial Suicide
15. Miracle

Genre: Metalcore

Here we have Bad Omens masterpiece.  What was hinted at on Limits/Never Know is fully realized here. 

First, the music.  Bad Omens has moved further away from the heaviness of their last two and more into a radio friendly sound.  Normally I'd hate that but they do it very well.  Noah's singing voice is much stronger than his screams.  His quavery, almost fragile, singing adds a lot of emotional depth here.  See Just Pretend for a good example.

Not that the heaviness is gone.  Songs like Artificial Suicide are still face melting.  But, his screams have majorly improved.  There much more powerful now.

The music is also more electronics driven.  A lot more ambient, brooding sound.  Check out Take Me First. The guitar is there, but the soft spoken verses have a much bigger impact with less guitar focus.

Now the lyrics.  Lyrically this album is a mix of toxic relationships and horror at the state of the world. Concrete jungle deals with the struggles of everyday life, not meeting expectations and being emotionally lost.  Artificial Suicide is about social media destroying everything.

The majority of the songs are about the narrator (not sure if this is Noah or a generic person) stuggling with toxic relationships, depression and self loathing. The title track is about insecurity destroying a relationship.  Like a Villain is about the partner always placing blame on the narrator, (who clearly has his issues and doesn't see how his own faults contributed to their failed relationship).

Obsession and depression are major themes here.  The narrator cannot get past these breakups.  He flat out states he'll stay away if she asks but he'll never get over her.  He questions all his decisions and tries coping with drugs and sex.

All of this culminates in Miracle.  The narrator is lost in this depressive cycle. His coping mechanisms fail and he's spiraling.  He's begging for a miracle to get out.

And that's it.   No reprive, no escape.  Weather this is fiction or a glimpse into Noah's life, who knows.  But it's a powerful, bleak album none the less.

My biggest complaint is that they let the album get too soft after The Grey and it drags on for a bit.  IDWT$ is fun but it doesnt really pick back up until Artificial Suicide.

An astonishing 9 green songs and no red.  This has been my most listened to album in the last 5 years, so its really no surprise how many songs I love here.  They nailed the intersection of emotional, relatable lyrics and interesting, talented music.

5/5

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