The Rock Dose

In Review: Royal Bliss Life In-Between

by Scott on August 30th, 2008

I wish I could just sum up a review by say “This is just plain out amazing!” but unfortunately I have to give a little more to go by for readers to at least try to respect a review from a person that hates doing reviews. Why do I hate doing reviews? Because sometimes it’s tough to come up with the words to describe just how good or bad a record or band is. I don’t have any formal education in writing, as most bloggers don’t, but I do know good music and I know trash when I hear it. Royal Bliss is far from trash. What I can say is that I am more than impressed with this album. I hate to beat a dead horse into oblivion, but this band is exactly what modern rock needs in this age. Let’s get started…

I was not familiar with Royal Bliss until I received Life In-Between and had to do the homework to do this review.If you’re not familiar with Royal Bliss, I’ll give you a very brief history. Reigning out of Salt Lake City Utah, this quintet has been through quite a bit on their journey to release Life In-Between. Between car accidents, skiing accident and substance abuse and addiction, Royal Bliss has been through quite a bit. Is all the trouble worth it and will Life In-Between pave the road to stardom? I think so.

With roots of hard rock to acoustic, melody bound softer songs, this entire album is a story of life lessons learned and learning. A story of heart ache, struggle and tragedy. The best way for me to explain some of the songs is to let the band explain them from an excerpt from their myspace:

“Life In-Between” is the band’s most honest and personal material to date. “All of the songs are sculpted out of life’s hard lessons.” says Middleton. “We went in with 30 plus songs and narrowed the record down to 12.”

When asked about the meaning behind the bands songs, Middleton explained “Devils & Angels” is about feeling like your stuck in the middle and having to make a choice. It’s kind of like the old cartoons when the main character would have an angel on his right shoulder telling him to do the right thing and the devil would be on his left shoulder telling him to do the opposite. The song is just about internal struggles.”

“We Did Nothing Wrong” was written about all the crazy shit that’s going on in the world from a kids point of view. It’s about war, global warming, and all the other stuff that the kids are inheriting from the older generation.”

From the album starter “Save Me”, written about Middleton’s personal struggles with alcohol, drugs, and transition into adult hood to “Here They Come” about dealing with people trying to inflict their point of view on you, the album is filled with big riffs and memorable melodies that instantly get stuck in the minds of everyone who hears them.

The elements of life lie in the process and the adventure, these songs are the result of that journey, a place where tragedy and beauty can exist side by side, where every emotion is valid and every emotion is needed. Such is the essence of Royal Bliss.

If you have read some of my other reviews, you know that I tell it like it is and I’m not blowing smoke. If you’re a fan of rock music, hard or that of softer nature, you will love Royal Bliss.

You can check out Royal Bliss on Myspace and stream a few of their songs there as well. I don;t think you will be disappointed. You can also download their single “Save Me” on iTunes. I don’t have a release date for Life In-Between yet, but I will announce it as soon as I find out.

All Images Used with permission from MRV Music

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