“Five things I can touch. Five things I can hear. Five things I can see.“
The scene in Las Vegas is currently undergoing a mass resurgence, with new talent cropping up almost daily at this point. Within the ranks, with the likes of newcomers in Sincerely Yours, and older, more established acts like Spiritworld, sits Roman Candle. Self-professed Sin City screamo, their earlier material is abrasive and raw, and perfectly scratches the itch for old-school screamo. Now, though, perhaps that moniker is due for an update, as following their signing to Sumerian, their sound took a turn, and they transformed into something much stronger. With the backing of a major label, the world became their oyster, and now, with the release of their debut album, Unadulterated, a new era of Roman Candle is upon us, and it’s one filled with promise.
Opting for a peculiar release strategy, the band put out two singles, “Fire In The Night Sky Forever” and “This Band Has Led Me To Places I Wouldn’t Go Without A Gun,” before then releasing even more singles under a different release and using different artwork. What’s stranger still is that all of these tracks then ended up on Unadulterated. Perhaps it was a last-minute decision, or maybe there was some strange label politics at play, but it did result in seven singles being released up front for a 12-track album. Though obviously a personal preference, this did dampen the excitement for the album quite a bit, having heard a hefty portion of the release out of order ahead of time. With that said, Roman Candle found themselves extremely lucky, as every single release has been utterly fantastic and strong enough to stand alone on its own. But heed this warning: the real fans who want to listen to albums in full do not want to be drip-fed so much. Tease us with two or three tracks and then save the surprises for the full release; it makes things all the more fun, and the TikTok attention span losers will eventually latch on to the more popular tracks anyway.
Okay, with that little rant out of the way, let’s move on to what we all really care about – the album. Expectations are high going into Unadulterated, and given the stellar quality of their debut EP, Discount Fireworks, alongside their reputation for live performances, the band had to deliver on all fronts. Up front, Unadulterated is an album that’s hard to define, but in the very best way. It sees the band honing their sound into a dagger, making sharp stabs with every track rather than continuing with the rough-around-the-edges scramz sound of their previous work. The album is a lot more polished, but not so much so that it loses any charm. There’s a level of care and restraint here to allow the band to shine through as individuals, rather than an overly mixed amalgamation that loses all personal flair. You heard it first with the aforementioned singles “Fire In The Night Sky Forever” and “This Band Has Led Me To Places I Wouldn’t Go Without A Gun,” and you’ll hear the same throughout Undaulterated. It’s a step up sonically, without letting go of their roots.
The band’s songwriting has transformed and taken a step up from their prior material, too, with vocalist Piper Ferrari delivering harrowing, poison-laced vocal jabs, leaving every word stinging. Piper has been very clear about what the album is written about, but even if we had not been given that additional context, the lyrics alone tell you all that you need to know. If you’ve been following Roman Candle for a little while, you likely know about the hellish year or so they’ve just had. We won’t dive into specifics, but it’s commendable that the band powered through and came out the other side of it all shining. “This Band Has Led Me To Places I Wouldn’t Go Without A Gun” is an introspection into Piper’s thought process around this time, and is very much introspective, with us being walked through her thought process. “I just can’t accept defeat. This is not how it’s supposed to be.” encapsulates this the best, and it’s that willpower that’s allowed the band to not only overcome their demons, but come out of the other side transformed. There’s then “Lady Lazarus”, which sees Piper exploring misogyny and her stance towards those who belittle her. Tackling things head-on, she’s a force to be reckoned with, and this track really proves that point (as if it wasn’t already obvious). There’s a trend throughout Unadulterated of the band consistently covering important, hard-hitting topics, and it’s never handled in a cliché way.
Supporting the band’s songwriting, Piper boasts an expanded vocal range across Unadulterated, which allows the album to step above many of their peers. Where Discount Fireworks was a very raw release, with harsh, rough screams, Unadulterated introduces much more variety into the mix. The screams are more controlled, spoken word segments have been thoughtfully positioned to aid the narratives, and clean vocals have been introduced into the fray to aid with variety. The juxtaposition between the harsh, immediate screams and the panicked, rushed cleans leans into a real sense of urgency, which holds up throughout the entire LP. There’s no messing around, every moment counts, and the delivery is tailored to match. This new approach is introduced to us on the opener “Blasphemous Act”, with Piper switching between screams and cleans regularly from the onset. The band are confidence in this approach, and they want you, the listener, to buy into it right away.
Then there’s the overall sound of the album. There’s no beating around the bush here; if you’ve heard any of the many singles, then you already know what you’re getting. Hell, if you’ve somehow managed to only hear one or two of them and are holding off for the full release, then you still already know how this album sounds. There are variations on a theme, but on the whole, Unadulterated sounds mostly the same throughout. In most situations, this would be a bad thing, but in Roman Candle’s case, it’s actually a great thing. Every song is utterly brilliant, there’s a strong sense of cohesion between them thematically and sonically, and none of it ever gets old. With that said, the few moments that do deviate somewhat from the typical sound of Unadulterated do so in such a way that it aids the album’s pacing immensely. Take “Lady Lazarus” for example, where the instrumentals drop out for a short while, leaving Piper to deliver a harrowing spoken word section atop slow, atmospheric guitars before exploding into the finale. “For Once My Hands Are Still” is perhaps the only track that deviates massively. Without spoiling too much, this track is purely narrative, with Piper delivering a spoken word story over atmospheric synths and a repeating guitar melody. It’s a surprising inclusion, and it will absolutely catch you off guard, but it is utterly brilliant because of it.
Unadulterated is a case of a band being more than the sum of its parts. It’s a story of being downtrodden, of being underestimated, and of tragedy and betrayal. It’s a culmination of every misdeed and how it’s shaped the band, and it’s something which can only be born out of necessity. With this album, Roman Candle has shown their adversity and resolve. They’ve demonstrated that despite the setbacks, they’re not ones to back down, and they’ve come out the other side of everything stronger. Unadulterated is a landmark achievement, and coming out of the gates with it as a debut album is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Unadulterated will be talked about in the screamo circuit for decades to come. This marks the beginning of a whole new wave of screamo breaking through into the mainstream, and though they may have changed their sound a bit, Roman Candle’s spark is shining brighter than ever.
