Blacklist Union

Til Death Do Us Part

Tony West

The Blacklist Union was formed in 2004 by frontman Tony West. They released their debut album in 2006 which was met by critical acclaim across the globe. They followed it up with their second release in 2008. Breakin’ Bread With The Devil received the same amount of acclaim and put them on the map once again. The band is back once again with a new album and a new attitude as well. The band tackles real life situations that affect each and every one of us in one form or another. Let’s dive into the new album Til Death Do Us Part and see what demons are dealt with. The 11 track record gets going with the title cut. “Til Death Do Us Part” opens up with an odd intro, but it draws you in close. The vocals then enter with a very low sound that is kind of hard to hear. The vocals finally change their style up some and it turns the entire track around. They do continue to flip flop throughout the tune, but it still makes the track sound better. The music is okay as well, including the awesome guitar solo. It’s a nice start to the album. “Alabama Slammer” turns in a fine effort. The vocals are much better while the tunes move faster than the opener. Once you dive into the lyrics they are well written and flow well with the music provided for them. The up beat tune should work well on any platform it appears on. The track has a vibe that screams “live tune.” You can just see the crowd getting into the track. “Blown Away” slows the album down once again. The tune sweeps along with ease, but didn’t grab my attention very well. The vocals are a bit whiney and the music is a little bland. “Game Over” is a low key number with decent vocals and simple sounding music. It sweeps along with ease, but the chorus is infectious. The simple sound will have your head bobbing while you pick up lyrics and sing right along. This one, even with being a bit slow, is a top tune. “Same Ol’ Pressure” has a great vibe to it and it’s easy to get into. The vocals are more up front in this one and you can understand them a bit more. The music rolls along with a smooth sound and tops off a nice number. “Diggin 4 Gold” is another upbeat number with loads to offer. It rolls along with an attitude and poise that you haven’t heard that much so far on this record. It will rock the stage, but I don’t see it doing much work on the airwaves. “Feed the Snakes” on the other hand has that radio feel as well as the live feel. The vocals are up close and the tunes just roll along. I love the guitars on this one and the drums just add to it. “I Do” steps up next with a low key tune that sees the vocals sink back into the background again. The whiney vocals spit out a decent set of lyrics, but I really didn’t get excited about this number. There are moments that I liked, but overall its just one that I see floating in the background until it’s over. “Don’t Change” begins really slow, but once it picks up it moves rather well. The vocals then enter and the track does loose some steam, but it still doesn’t sound bad. There are places where I feel the track does get a little flat as there is too much lag time between lyrics. This is another one that really didn’t excite me much. “The Lick Kitty Split Theme Song” is an odd tune that I really couldn’t get into. The vocals are set back in once again and are hard to understand for the most part. The music is a little cramped up as well. The track just doesn’t flow well at all. “I Don’t Love You Anymore” wraps up the album with a long 5 plus minute track. The song is a long key track with the vocals setting back in the track once again. The slow tempo however helps the track out a lot. The vocals do seem to just run without taking a break. It feels a little unnatural and sounds a bit odd as well. The backing vocals do step up some as well and when they are blended together the set sounds really solid. It turns out to be an okay tune, but nothing real fancy. Overall the album is okay. Not many tracks stand out and I’m sure some people won’t like the whiney vocal style that floods the record. The music is decent, although it doesn’t excite as much as I would have hoped for. There are a couple of tracks that do stand out for me, but overall there are a lot of tracks that will just sweep by in my opinion.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Tracks to Watch:

Game Over, Same Ol’ Pressure

Track List:

1. Til Death Do Us Part
2. Alabama Slammer
3. Blown Away
4. Game Over
5. Same Ol’ Pressure
6. Diggin 4 Gold
7. Feed the Snakes
8. I Do
9. Don’t Change
10. The Lick Kitty Split Theme Song
11. I Don’t Love You Anymore

Website (s):  www.blacklistunion.com