Album Review: Palisades – “Mind Games”

Two years after the release of their debut album “Outcasts”, the post-hardcore band Palisades have created their sophomore album “Mind Games”, and are ready for fans to hear what they’ve been up too. In between their busy touring schedules with bands like Crown The Empire, We Came As Romans, and I See Stars, the New Jersey natives have been in the studio with Erik Ron (Panic! At The Disco, Saosin) writing and recording the very personal album that they wanted to be unlike anything else out there.

Although each song is very different from one another, they all embody what Palisades is about – Metalcore based guitars and drums infused with electronic and synth beats on top of killer lyrics.

The songs “No Chaser”, “Afraid”, “Like A Drug”, and “Come Over And Watch Netflix” all have really creative EDM style intros, with various zooms, zips, and other sounds that make you feel like you’re at a night club, that lead into some really cool guitar jams and some intense drum breakdowns.

Much like the bands first album, “Mind Games” features guests on three of the tracks: “Player Haters’ Ball” – featuring blackbear; The title track “Mind Games” – featuring Champs; and “People Like Us” featuring Garrett Rapp from The Color Morale. Each of the features are unique and help add a little bit of flare to the songs.

“Whatever You Want It To Be” and “Bad Girls” are the two tracks that might throw you for a loop in the beginning. Both songs definitely have more of a hip hop feel than the others do, but they don’t stray too far from their Metalcore roots.

The one song that stuck out the most was a track called “True Blood”. Although to the average listener, this track might not really “break the mold” as far as Palisades goes. But honestly, even though it may not have all the bells and whistles that the other songs do, the lyrics and traditional hardcore vibe it gives off just brings the album full circle.

“Mind Games” as a whole is definitely one that needs to recognized as a new take on an old genre. Palisades not only use their usual EDM style beats and feature some great guests on their album, but throwing a little bit of hip hop into their style, is just another reason why there will never be anyone out there like them.

You can stream the album for free here: http://www.redbull.com/us/en/music/stories/1331698653910/palisades-premiere-new-mind-games-album

Or pre-order the album here: palisades.merchnow.com

The official release date for the album is January 13, 2015.

For more info, go to: www.twitter.com/WeArePalisades