Sometimes, an artist blows up so quickly, with such ferocity, that the labels behind them become more than a little greedy. This happened to be the case with Modestep in 2013, when they released Evolution Theory. While touring consistently, they were hounded for an album’s worth of material, until Evolution Theory finally came out. They called it rushed, and said that it doesn’t really “sound like a record.”
You’ll be happy to know that is not the case with London Road.
In a sense, London Road is one of the most complete albums of the year. From start to finish, it exudes a singular goal, and that is to unequivocally melt the faces off of listeners. I don’t think an album this year has a stronger start, with collaborations from Funtcase, Teddy Killerz, and Culprate right off the bat. Pair that with two of the strongest singles on the record, “Machines” and “Feel Alive,” and damn, you don’t really know what hit you.
But then we get to “Rainbow” with Partysquad… It is not a bad track by any means – having heard it live, I can attest to that – but its placement on the album serves to sever a lot of the momentum that had been built up in the first five tracks. The album continues after as if nothing happened, but it’s difficult to forget.
However, continue on the album does, and it does it brilliantly. Featuring a grime collaboration with more featured artists than you’d know what to do with, as well as a featured track with Skindred that epitomizes the metal/EDM crossover, London Road finishes just about as strong as it starts.
If you’re looking for an album that blends metal, dubstep, drum & bass and more into one neatly wrapped package, then you don’t need to look any further. It’s right in front of you.
Grab your own copy here.
