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Whilst most bands often talk about the hypothetical journey that they embarked on whilst making their latest album, Bellusira actually did embark on a journey with their second album, ‘The Healing’, choosing to relocate to Los Angeles from their native Melbourne, Australia. A bold and brave move. Original members, Crystal Ignite (vocals) and Mark Dalbeth (bass) did indeed up sticks and go walkabout.
Crystal Ignite herself has spoken about how this album represents breaking the cycle of abuse, and for her this is a hugely personal album, telling Melbourne podcast host Dave Higgins:
“This was a very personal album for me. I was healing, and I finished healing things that I thought were healed. I had to go back into the past and re-visit a lot of things… a black time for me, but a time of re-birth… the album became not about me, but about stories to help other people heal… I’m good now. I’ve got my outlets.. abuse is a big problem across the world. It’s a cycle, and I see myself as a cycle breaker.”
‘The Healing’ is an album of many contrasts. The music runs the full gamut from hard rock to pop rock and aggressive metal. It has it’s lighter moments to fend off the darker parts, and the lyrical content, dealing with abuse, as well as bullying, will certainly hit home for a great deal of listeners.
‘The Fight’ opens up the 11 track album, and along with Lynn Gunn from PVRIS, rock music does indeed have a new spokeswoman and queen-in-waiting. Ignite puts her heart out there for all to see, and delivers a highly passionate vocal performance. A very traditional strong album opener, that sets the pace for the rest of the album… modern and edgy. ‘Dance With Me’ begins with a slamming intro and softer vocals from Ignite, before she lets rip with some powerful vocal gymnastics. Musically, ‘Black Seed’ has echoes of Evanescence. The same driving drum groove, but Ignite has an entirely different vocal style to Amy Lee… more akin to Myles Kennedy, actually. ‘Sister’ is the first chance the album has to slow things down, with a more radio friendly sound and some heartfelt lyrics. One of the albums highlights, powerful and catchy.
‘How Far’ is a riff-laden groove monster, which will see heads in the front few rows nodding back and forth, whilst ‘Sever’ ramps it up a notch, and provides the ammo for a good old pogo by ending with some Rage Against The Machine-style thrashing. ‘Fire Song’ is similar in style, with Crystal Ignite managing to marry both clean and screaming vocals with aplomb. Both ‘Pieces’ and ‘Tonight’ are lighter, bordering on power ballad territory, without being too sugar-coated, the latter, especially impressing. ‘Redemption Song’ is another example of Ignite using her personal experiences as fuel for her songwriting, dealing with bullying at school. This is hard-hitting and ferocious. At one point, Ignite was thinking about pursuing a career as a psychologist working with youths, instead choosing to help others by sharing the challenges that she has faced.
The album closes with the title track, which is bare and stripped down, just Crystal Ignites’ raw vocals accompanied with a solitary acoustic guitar. Emotive, powerful, and uplifting, offering up hope for the future with the words…”You’re stronger than you know”.
With the recent addition of the hard hitting powerhouse, Tosha Jones, on drums, as well as ex-Static X guitarist, Koichi Fukuda joining the band, Bellusira are on a rapid ascent. They will be returning to Oz in December (at the personal request of Lzzy Hale) to support Halestorm on their Aussie tour. It’s fair to say that their stock is indeed rising, and this is an album that demands your attention. Now… please squeeze in some UK dates before heading back to Oz!
‘The Healing’ is available from all the usual digital outlets, but for more info about Bellusira, and how to get hold of signed copies of this awesome album, then head over to:
Review: David Stott
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