CHEST ROCKWELL: The Existentialist (release date April 16, 2021)

Stripped Down, Edgy, and Mean

Excuse Me, I’m Going to Delete This Version

“The Existentialist” is the second release by which multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer/producer Josh Hines keeps CHEST ROCKWELL a going concern.

This Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA outfit faces what so many bands face over the years- people’s needs change, time gets crunched with new commitments- so it goes.

Meanwhile Josh keeps the flame burning.

Delete This Version

So here’s the thing. Josh doesn’t necessarily think and write in conventional ways. My take on the theme of this album is “We’re going to hell in a hand-basket.”

And some mysterious, seriously disgusted traveling yahoo shaman/person wants a complete reset. He’s seen enough- he’s had it up to the tip of his Union Army hat. “Delete this version!”

In Nine Tracks

It’s hard to argue with some stark facts- greenhouse gases, loss of rain forests, devastation of multiple species, fouling of the water supplies, rich getting richer- poor getting poorer…

…I could go on, but you get the point.

In nine tracks, THIS version of CHEST ROCKWELL utilizes slashing, jaggedy guitar riffs (maybe mixed too high) that are razor sharp, resonant bass guitar, precision drumming (both of which might be mixed a bit low), and Josh’s penetrating, intense tenor vocals…

…in a post-progressive metal maelstrom, to deliver the urgent, no-holds-barred message. “THIS version of human-kind on THIS planet Earth- hell in a hand-basket.”

The Music and The Message

There are four opening tracks chock-full of searing riffs in a stripped down guitar/bass/drums format; when I say “searing” I mean razor-sharp knife-edge riffs, some single lines, some in harmony lines, some chords power-washing the fraught environment…

…Urgent, intense vocals (“I couldn’t face the future/ so it’s been deleted”), shifting tempos, (“Reach into my pockets/ find the fucks I give.”) Resonant bass-lines with pulverizing drumming, and my first impression was “Some of these first tracks began to sound alike”.

Then, An Instrumental

“Acceptance of the Absurd” is a cockeyed (absurd?), off kilter, melange of unison, stark bass and guitar lines, tempo changes, featuring an extensive (maybe a bit too extensive) guitar/bass/drums workout, that…fades.

Then three more tracks in which some killer guitar lines are introduced (“Transference Interference” and “The Other’s Look”- which also brings in some keyboard sound for the first time as well, and some nice dual guitar leads too.)…

…Leading into the final instrumental closing track “I Was the Traveler”, which becomes cinematic and utilizes string sounds and orchestral arrangements, mellotron sounds, and some tricky guitar counterpoint lines.

“When Everything is Too Far Gone/There’s Nothing Left to Save“

What do you think? ARE we too far gone?

I sincerely hope not…but I got the feeling CHEST ROCKWELL/Josh Hines isn’t so sure.