Otherwise — True Love Never Dies (2012)

The word
“otherwise” may have a passive aggressive feel to it,
but make no mistake about it, the band Otherwise are anything but
passive and are ready to serve notice on the hard rock world that
this is their time to shine.
‘True Love Never Dies’ is not just a group of songs,
it’s a journey that tells a story. Sibling rockers Adrian and
Ryan Patrick have dedicated the disc to their late cousin, a man
they say always wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to living
life. “We don’t really have the words to convey what
the release of this album means to us,” explain the brothers.
“So much hard work, so much sacrifice, so much heartache has
gone into our music. ‘True Love Never Dies’ is a
testament to those who have gone before us. We are deeply humbled
to honor them in such a way.”
The disc follows a path through total devotion (‘Die for
You,’ ‘Lighthouse’), the anger that comes from a
relationship gone bad (‘Vegas Girl,’ ‘I
Don’t Apologize (1000 Words)’), acceptance and
self-analysis (‘Crimson,’ ‘Full Circle’),
and the desire to make it all right again (‘Soldiers,’
‘Heaven’).
Singer Adrian Patrick says that their cousin’s life played a
role in the songs, explaining, “He had a tattoo on his neck
that said ‘True Love Never Dies,’ and no matter how
many sh—y Vegas girls broke his heart, the guy truly believed
that and he kept putting his heart on his sleeve … We look
back on the songs and we look back at the subject matter of every
song on the album as a whole, and that title ‘True Love Never
Dies’ is strangely fitting.”
Music fans are already probably familiar with the lead single
‘Soldiers,’ which was a perfect choice for a kickoff
track as it shows the band’s ability to range of harder
moments blended with harmonic vocals. The ‘Taps’-style
drumming gives it that military feel, but within the context of the
album it works more to salute those who fight for what they believe
in as part of their everyday life. The track is built for the live
audience and should offer some fan sing-alongs toward the end of
the performance.
While ‘Soldiers’ shows the band’s heavy-to-light
range, a good portion of the early half of the record is much
harder hitting. ‘Die for You’ kicks off the record with
a gut-punch of mesmerizing guitars and the powerful vocals of
Adrian Patrick leading the way, while feeling like something that
would fit in Three Days Grace’s heavier arsenal.
‘Lighthouse’ shows off some solid guitar play from Ryan
Patrick and Vassilios Metropoulous, with the possibility for
symphonic backing should the band ever experiment live.
‘Don’t Be Afraid’ and ‘Silence
Reigns’ are two tracks that let drummer Corky Gainsford head
off to the races with a chance to showcase his hard-hitting skills,
while ‘Vegas Girl’ paints a visual picture for the
audience and is destined to be a fan favorite with its chorus of
“hey heys” begging the crowd to take part. Plus the
harder-edged ‘Full Circle’ stands a good chance of
being a future single.
But while they definitely show off their rock chops, it’s the
melody that sets Otherwise apart. With the Patrick brothers,
bassist Flavio Ivan, Gainsford and Metropoulous all lending a hand,
the harmonic sound of this band stands out on such tracks as
‘I Don’t Apologize (1000 Words)’ and the
steadily-building wistful power ballad/album closer
‘Heaven.’
All told, Otherwise serve up an impressive debut that should yield
a handful of hits at rock radio.