The Veer Union – Divide The Blackened Sky (2012) Review

Yell! Magazine review:

Back in March, The Veer Union released their third album, Divide the Blackened Sky, which has reached the 33rd position on the U.S. charts. Apparently the band has been through some tough times in its eight-year career, such as being dropped by its label and a revolving cast of members. However, none of that has deterred the band’s two most faithful members, guitarist, Eric Schraeder and vocalist, Crispin Earl. They march on with iron-clad determination to dominate active rock stations.

Post-grunge, alternative rock, whatever you want to call it, it’s typical rock radio music. It’s over produced, cliche, and thick like molasses on a Canadian car’s windshield in January. And what’s with the way Crispin pronounces “bite” on the opening track, “Borderline”? So it’s not the worst thing you could listen to, but aside from Black Veil Bride, The Veer Union is a close runner-up or something. When Nickelback is better than you, it’s time to put that guitar back in its case. And seriously, The Veer Underground does sound like a second-rate Nickelback. (Are we there already? The first wave of Nickelback prodigy. We’re doomed if this goes anywhere.)

This is a tricky genre of rock, because either you love it or you hate it. However, if you like Nickelback, you’ll probably like the songs by these fellow Canadians on Divide the Blackened Sky. And judging from record sales and concert attendance, someone likes Nickelback, which is good news for The Veer Union. Personally, I find a hooker with scabs more enticing than listening to either Nickelback or The Veer Union.

I tried to give Divide the Blackened Sky a fair shot. I listened to it on my computer, on my iPod, in my car, while out for a run, as background music at work, and more often than not I forgot that I was supposed to be listening to it. It just doesn’t work for me. It’s forgettable. It’s so bad you can’t even hate it. For a band playing this brand of hard rock, it lacks catchy hooks, memorable melodies, anthemic sing-alongs, musicianship, charisma, etc. It’s a flat album that was assembled in the studio according to formulas set by the successes of previous bands. Of course they try to add some electronic elements to the formula, which has been done before, unsuccessfully, and it’s still unsuccessful here.

Then you read such things as what Crispin Earl has said about the new album, and after listening to the album, you’re like, “seriously, this is what you come up with?”:

“Our new record, Divide The Blackened Sky, is a much darker and heavier effort than our previous works. It depicts all the hard times we have been through over the last couple of years.”

The Verdict: [rating:1.5]

Like I said, if you like Nickelback, you might want to check out The Veer Union’s Divide the Blackened Sky. For us at Yell! Magazine, we’re gonna pass on this.

Rock Hard \m/