Fans of the hard-rock supergroup Dark New Day have been waiting with baited breath for the band’s third studio album. Hail Mary was recorded in 2006 following DND’s 2005 debut, 12 Year Silence. But due to a contract discontinuation between the band and Warner, Hail Mary was shelved until 2013. This is why the guitar and vocal parts of former members Clint Lowery (Sevendust) and Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence) are present here. Of course, it’s frontman Brett Hestla (Creed, Virgos Merlot) whose seductive and sinister voice sets the tone with the opening “Goodbye,” an innovative delicacy of post-grunge rawk filtered through top-shelf production. The octopodal arm-flailing of drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence, Black Label Society, SOiL) kickstarts the following “Anywhere” with well-oiled kinetics before downshifting to let the song work its dynamic magic. It builds from quiet melodic verses to hard-throttled choruses, à la Siamese Dream–era Smashing Pumpkins, right down to Hestla singing somewhat like Billy Corgan.
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