With a history of writing music together that dates back over sixteen years, brothers Zach and Blake Bedsaul have weathered many storms along their journey. Calling their band Saul, they rode the ups and downs as an independent act for many years, but ironically through the tragedy of losing their older brother to H1N1, they would pen the highly personal song “Brother,” thus resulting in tremendous success. The mainstream music world’s first real exposure to Saul, the cathartic hit track would find them receiving plenty of interest… interest that resulted in Finnish Metal label Spinefarm Records signing the band back in 2020. Soon after releasing their debut full-length album Rise as Equals later the same year, Saul has remained a force in Hard Rock since with a list of highly charted singles. Now in 2023 the band look to take matters to the next level with their follow up album This Is It…The End of Everything.
Released on July 28, 2023 through Spinefarm Records, the album is an important moment for the band in many aspects. The most glaring is that the Bedsaul brothers (along with William McIlravy on bass and Myles Clayborne on drums) have worked too long and hard to let things slip away now. Sophomore albums are always the most critical with any band and could make or break their future. That said, This Is It…The End of Everything certainly leaves nothing to chance as Saul pulls out all the stops to assure this record will hit… and hit hard.
Complete with the dystopian title, This Is It…The End of Everything is rather reflective of the current world we are living in. Call it doom, gloom, or overly pessimistic, but there is no denying the stitches are separating from the seams of society’s fabric. Diplomacy is at an all-time low, division is at an all-time high, and it feels like nobody, regardless of their views, wants to leave the echo chamber they have created for themselves that mirrors an illusion of comfort.
Facing this reality head on, the overall feeling of This Is It…The End of Everything is not full of despair, but more a sense of how we find our way out of this self-inflicted social catastrophe that we have created. It is more about resilience in the face of adversity, as heard on songs lie “Tooth & Nail” and “The Last Parade,” and “No Mercy.” These feelings could be a reaction to the chaos ensuing right outside our front door, or the personal battle we all face sometimes when feeling disconnected and separated from everything and everyone around us. These more introspective vibes can be heard on cuts like “A Million Miles,” “More of the Same,” “Runaway,” or “Better as a Memory.”
In all, the album has little to know low points and the combination of razor-sharp guitars, carefully placed electronic tones to amply the atmosphere, matched with Blake’s leading vocals make for some of today’s best modern Hard Rock. These songs tap into deep emotion lyrically, but also musically with a ton of energy that is impactful. Joining other independent Hard Rock bands like Nothing More and Any Given Sin who have broken the ceiling into the mainstream on their own artistic terms without bending at the knee to current trends, Saul is here to stay. An album well worth the time to sever yourself from the cyber prison we have created that truly disconnects us from real human emotion, Cryptic Rock gives This Is It…The End of Everything 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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