Against All Will
A Rhyme & Reason

By Todd Jolicouer

You never know what to expect when a publicity rep contacts you asking you to check out their band. I know, your band is “unlike any other…” or “the next best thing…” and “destined to be huge stars.” When Yvonne contacted us about checking out Against All Will I wondered which of these thought processes would be thrown at us. A nice change of pace – she simply asked us to check them out and if we were interested, we could move forward.

Upon checking out the songs she forwarded, I was interested enough to listen to them for the next few days and let them soak in. I was truly “Swept Away” as the first song indicates. The sound of this disc is right up there with all of my other current favorites. I would love to hear this one get regular attention. The sound is solid rock without being too heavy. Seems you can’t make it in modern rock without the help of Octane (Sirius/XM Radio) these days – so these guys should be okay, as they get some regular spins. A little different from the lead track, “Discard You” features a killer guitar solo that really ties this song together, with its time changes and vocal bridges. Next up is “All About You.” This song is definitely an ode to Little Miss Gotta Have It All. At the end of the day, all the material stuff doesn’t matter without love and chemistry - to quote the band, “you found out the sex just ain’t the same.”

“The Blue” is a solid rock song with great musicianship wrapped around quality vocals. This song, with its background harmonies and solid guitar work, should come off really cool live. A little acoustic guitar starts off “Nothing Good Anymore.” I really like this song – it makes my foot move, without being overpowering. You could play this one for the hard rock and AOR crowd alike and get a decent response from both. Next is the lead single from the disc, “The Drug I Need.” This song digs deep and points its rocking fingers at that relationship that you hated being a part of, but couldn’t walk away from. How can you love someone and resent them at the same time? This song covers it all and has great lyrics. Closer “Let It Go” is another of my favorites. I love the rhythmic sound of the bass and drums, along with the guitar work. This is another song I think would go over very well live, as it is consistent and has that arena rock/anthem feel to it.

After listening to this disc, you can tell where these guys have been. I only hope this gets into enough hands so we can watch where they head from here.