The Word Alive - Life Cycles

The Word Alive, a five-member metal outfit hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, released their sophomore album, Life Cycles, July 3. The 13-song work has received glowing reviews from many outlets, including an 8/10 from absolutepunk.net.

All 13 tracks on the 50-minute piece were written by the band's lead singer, Tyler "Telle" Smith:

1. Dragon Spell

2. Wishmaster

3. Entirety

4. For Your Health

5. Bar Fight

6. Life Cycles

7. Evolution

8. Hidden Lakes

9. Ambitionary

10. Live a Lie

11. Belong

12. Room 126

13. Astral Plane

After building a strong fan base following their debut EP, Empire, and album, Deceiver, which came out in 2009 and 2010 respectively, TWA made the decision to enter the studio with well-known hardcore producer Joey Sturgis. Sturgis has produced for the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men, We Came As Romans, and Miss May I to name a few. What resulted from their pairing appears to have paid off, big time. Life Cycles has the potential to catapult TWA to new heights in the metal scene.

As a casual fan of the band, I was looking forward to the album's release. Smith has always been an extremely emotional writer, and loves to incorporate the ideals of family and loyalty into his songs. Life Cycles is no different. 

The band's sophomore release wasn't such a success without it's challenges, however. It was announced only four months before the album dropped that keyboardist Dusty Riach and drummer Justin Salinas would be leaving the band. Life Cycles was the band's first release without Riach, and they recruited a fill-in drummer to keep the beat during the recording process. In my opinion, both newcomers more than adequately filled the positions of their predecessors. 

Smith's lyrics take on a lighter, more positive note on this album, unlike his past projects. Don't let that fool you though; Life Cycles is actually the band's heaviest work to date.  Highlights on the album include "Bar Fight" and "Room 126", which both are sure to be killer live acts thanks to their plentiful breakdowns. 

Overall, I give Life Cycles a 4.5/5 stars. The album is available for purchase on iTunes.

The Word Alive will be co-headling the country-wide All Stars Tour, which kicks off on July 28th in Detroit.


- Ben