Dynamic, epic and high-octane
On Santa Cruz outfit Drain’s second studio album Living Proof, the band plays it safe with a more solidified sound for most of the record. However, the group still has a few surprises that highlight a bigger musical range.
The opening track, “Run Your Luck,” is a Drain song through and through. As lead vocalist Sammy Ciaramitaro howls in the song’s opening lyrics, he’s met almost immediately by his bandmates, guitarist Cody Chavez and drummer Tim Flegal run alongside him. Chavez fills the track with riff after riff, from the simplistic stair-stepping chords to a wild background solo; his guitar work sets the track’s pacing.
Each song on this album feels like three tracks crammed into one, moving fluidly from a fast-paced ride featuring drum fills and distorted chord progressions to a slow breakdown with a single strum that makes the silence feel as strong as the instruments.
“Devil’s Itch” is the perfect example of the band’s rapid pace changes. Starting out with an epic bassline supported by Flegal’s tom hits, Chavez’s guitar cries out with a high note before transitioning into their traditional metal sound. From there, it switches to a half-time breakdown and almost immediately back to a fast rampage.
Chavez leads these changes, with certain guitar parts signaling the next movement with elite precision. Ciaramitaro is just as poignant with his lyrics as his bandmates are with their instrumental: “Been spit through the ringer/ Too many times/ We stood up, we shut up/ ‘Cause life don’t apologize.”
This high-octane sound remains steady throughout the record and aligns perfectly with their debut full-length album, 2020’s California Cursed. While California Cursed had “Hollister Daydreamer,” a hauntingly acoustic track with small classic rock guitar flourishes, Living Proof completely flips the script with “Intermission” featuring Shakewell.
An echoed piano intro starts the track before drum machines signal the entrance of Shakewell, a musician whose flow sounds similar to Matt Champion of Brockhampton. His verse namedrops several of the tracks from the album before transitioning into Drain’s signature instrumentals once again.
The second departure track and perhaps the best song on the album is “Good Good Things,” which takes Drain and turns their sound into something similar to Blink-182 or Yellowcard. Ciaramitaro takes a step back from his screamo vocals and leans more into a pop-punk range as he takes center stage on a song about falling in love and running away: “I know a place, cool and warm/ Cooling my blood and warming my heart/ So come on down and walk with me/ And tell me I’m your man.”
The band has created a metal album that easily separates itself from the competition. With these little flourishes, Drain have created a creature that continues to evolve its sound while letting its emotions run wild. Drain is living proof that a few stylistic choices can elevate an album into a cool, warm place with prestige.
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