Break The Spell

Time of radical measures

After the release of the first two records, Daughtry finally reached their moment of truth. There was no longer any sense in deceiving themselves and listeners proving that soft pop rock offered on those albums would still be interesting. The debut effort was a high seller mostly because of Chris Daughtry who had grabbed his piece of glory on TV. Enchanted with his manly voice and image, the audience literally swept the CD off the shelves. The following long player, molded precisely by the patterns of the former, already exposed some mediocrity, and the third one… Well, on the third one Daughtry in the long run decided to amend something in their music. Break The Spell is, of course, not Norwegian black, or West Coast gangster rap. Formally, this is still rock and roll. What is new is the delivery. Frankly speaking, this is how the American outfit’s debut record should have sounded five years ago.

Get us more rock and roll!

To promote the upcoming record, Daughtry selected truly top songs which outline the new album’s strongest merits. The first single, Renegade, finds itself at the beginning of the set and speeds up the record in a blink of an eye. Hailing basses, intense drums and shadow of despair in Chris’s vocals make the song a true rock piece without unnecessary prefixes. The second single if a softer song called Crawling Back To You. This one is another dedication to the theme of almost irrevocably ruined relationship, and in terms of music we have a very solid hit with a calm verse and heavy chorus. Some would say this exactly a formula for nothing but a pop favorite. Yet, either for louder guitars, or expressive singing, the listeners come to believe the performers more than ever before. Daughtry easily turned into more dynamic rocking and rolling guys for whom guitar riff is the first and the main of all commandments. Nearly each second track on Break The Spell is a killer to be played out loud, preferably listened to live. Louder Than Hell, and Outta My Head are the best of that kind on the album.

Daughtry’s most difficult and interesting album so far

We cannot speculate on Daughtry taking a turn towards another style. Break The Spell has got only one song that really displays a powerful influence from outside. This is Start Of Something Good with strong blues elements, and once you put them on mighty rhythm section, you get something similar to the legendary ZZ Top. As for the rest, Daughtry stay loyal to their music roots. However, there is more life, energy and depth to their new material. If they want electricity on their guitars, you are sure to get most of it and feel all the vibe. When it is time to turn sentimental, the band delivers something that strikes you right in the soul, and the brilliant ballad Gone Too Soon is the best proof to this point. The amazing combination of acoustic and electric guitars, Daughtry’s trademark through all these years, is forwarded to perfection here. The more variegated and sophisticated instrumental support made new challenges for vocalist Chris who deals with them flawlessly. Break The Spell features Daughtry singing with more confidence and strength because the music requires them. We make a conclusion that Daughtry’s third album is a vital step forward and once the band has made it, the musicians have to open up new creative horizons.