Not to throw too much daylight in upon magic, but much of what we are sent to review comes from PR companies and record labels. You can tell a lot about a record from where it comes.
Take the last Kris Barras release, for example. When Hollow Souls marked his return to the blues, it arrived from one of the foremost blues PR firms we deal with. Monsters We Made, though, comes from the same people who work with Slipknot, Clutch, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry.
The latter two are particularly important because they make the kind of modern, stadium-shaking rock that Kris Barras Band are now focusing on.
There is something deeply personal underpinning its sheer scale, too. Barras lost his mum to cancer at the beginning of the recording process. That grief, together with the reflection it inevitably caused, runs through a collection filled with defiance, self-doubt and the determination not to be broken.
The title track carries on the modern-metal direction of the last few Kris Barras Band records. Huge choruses collide with thunderous drums and thick, chunky riffs, but what a solo it contains. More than anything, though, the lyrics are pure catharsis.
“Beautiful Lie” is darker and somehow melancholic. It searches for truth amid the uncertainty, while Barras once again proves that, as both a songwriter and guitarist, he really is one of the best.
If ever there were a song built to be played live, then “Riot Of One” is it. “I’m a bad motherfucker, so come and get some,” he spits. Given his MMA background, you probably want to leave it.
Acoustic guitars mix with enormous riffs on “Unspoken”. Everything here sounds personal, but it is also massive, classy and superbly done. Barras has found a way to make introspection sound fit for an arena.
“All Falls Down” talks of being drained of everything before the collapse comes, yet the guitar rings out like a clarion call of defiance. Whatever darkness surrounds these songs, there is always a refusal to surrender.
That continues with “Alive”. Whatever has tried to break Barras has not beaten him yet, and you sense it never will. He does not merely survive the challenge here; he appears to relish it.
Although the style has changed markedly since his early blues records, Monsters We Made is still very much a guitar album made by a brilliant player. “Otherside” is weighty, examining the duality of man while allowing the music to breathe and expand. These are simply marvellous songs.
In contrast to its title, there is nothing remotely false about “Fake”. Indeed, this might be the most authentic Kris Barras Band record of all. Rather than following expectations—whether those of the blues crowd or anyone else—he has made precisely the album he wanted.
The mighty “Rewind” is designed to send fists into the air, but there is self-doubt at its heart. Its determination to prove every critical voice wrong sounds like a mission statement for the entire record.
“End Of Me” is the second of the more ballad-like songs. It contemplates standing back and watching the final scene unfold, but Barras is nowhere near finished. This is perfect modern arena rock: emotional, expansive and built to connect with thousands of people at once.
“Levitate” finishes things as a rabble-rouser, although not without confrontation. Barras stares down his enemies, rises above them and sounds stronger for everything he has endured.
Maybe these days Barras is more comfortable in his own skin. Because, without question, Monsters We Made is probably the best thing he has ever put his name to.
Rating: 9.5/10
