Caught in the Carousel

Bayside

The Walking Wounded
Victory

Bayside

Bayside's The Walking Wounded is their most concise and powerful release to date, taking everything that could be deemed promising about their previous two albums and creating something both musically and emotionally focused. It's no secret that the album title directly references Bayside's emotional state for the past two years—a 2005 van accident killed drummer John "Beatz" Holohan and seriously injured bassist Nick Ghanbarian. That being said, Bayside recognizes that everyone has moments of pain and sorrow in their lives and the important thing is how one responds in the wake of tragedy. As singer/guitarist Anthony Raneri states on the Victory website, "What we mean by 'Walking Wounded' is to reflect on all kinds of survivors, not necessarily what we survived. Most of this record is about keeping your head up and getting through tough situations. Everybody has to get over being wounded." This declaration echoes the title track's lyrics ("...all wounded anyway in our respective ways") which are placed over driving guitars and drums. Elsewhere, the anthemic "Carry On" is buoyed by driving guitar riffs, while "Duality," the album's first single, continues the theme of emotional pain being a part of life ("you're the flame that burns me, so I know that I'm still alive") and serves as the flagship in a collection of catchy and memorable songs. It's apparent on The Walking Wounded that Bayside is not only making a personal statement about growth, but also a musical one as well. In "Head on a Plate," Raneri confidently sings, "I'm just trying to bring music back to music." Ambitious, indeed, but this album has so much heart it's hard to think they'll fall short.

—Daniel Galleno