Searching the internet can yield a multitude of results ranging from life-changing to a feeling of oblivion. Many of my generation spent innumerable days online on the platform YouTube. Along such a timeline one may walk down a lane of fond memories of our favorite content creators and even musicians. Music has become somewhat synonymous in the modern day with YouTube and music videos. It’s a place where people can post just about anything and gain an audience, and for many aspiring musicians, this can kickstart that career they once dreamed of. Knocked Loose is one of those bands that got their start posting early songs to the platform, immediately putting themselves on the map.
But what set Knocked Loose apart so much to gain a following in such a manner? The characteristics are obvious in what sets Knocked Loose apart from other bands: the vocals. Lead singer Bryan Garris has one of the most recognizable voices in the modern metal scene with an impressive range and screams so sharp they could cut through anything. Aside from the vocals, the group is technically sound, laying down some of the chunkiest, gut-wrenching riffs played with pure passion and energy. No different than their past works, “Blinding Faith” only adds to their esteemed catalog of music.
Ripping into listeners off the bat, Knocked Loose sets the tone with offsetting guitars distorted to the grimiest levels possible and drums smacked in between beats, and when Knocked Loose plays, you listen. Bryan Garris’s energy then pours through with his patented high-pitch screams opening:
“Blinding faith /
Blinding faith.”
The band lays off giving listeners a breather, just like the feeling of transitioning songs in a mosh pit, but this peace doesn’t last long as Bryan Garris continues his tirade alongside Isaac Hale who growls, adding even more aggression:
“I am haunted /
By the spirit again /
I can’t feel it /
I pretend /
There’s something inside me that won’t let it in /
I’m all alone /
So I beg /
Beg for a chance in a circle of snakes /
A life consumed by faith.”
The track slows a bit, chugging along with deeply distorted guitars. Tension builds, leading to the band regrouping to blast back with another powerful verse. But the bridge between offers one of the filthiest breakdowns that Knocked Loose is known for while piercing screams are delivered straight to listeners:
“From inside I can hear their call /
Offering the blood of God /
Oh.”
Quickly added in after the bridge is the last pit stop before the final rampage:
“Fall in line now /
Cymbals are tapped lightly just seconds before the track is flipped right on its head, picking up the pace to slam everything that Knocked Loose has into listeners’ ears. Everything culminates in one of the hardest-hitting verses the band could produce. Screams, growls, snare drums that sound like a banging trash can and guitars as thick as mud, Knocked Loose shouts:
“I will suffer here instead of biting my tongue /
Condemned to a life of pain until my time has come /
No promise of heaven will make me march /
With my final breath /
I deny the church.”
The job is not finished though, Knocked Loose adds in one final breakdown for listeners to slam their heads up and down to, belting out:
“The word becomes the law /
The word becomes the law /
Bend the knee /
Son of God.”
The storm is finally over with the band getting in just three more lines before everything comes to a halt:
“Blinding faith /
Fall in line /
Blind.”
In the end, the audience is left pondering on what has just happened. A fit of fury was waged but also poses some deep thinking on the topic of religion and faith in general. Regardless of one’s beliefs, I think anyone could appreciate the passion thrown out by the band on this track.
