Losing All serves up the mix of guitar-driven 90s-flavored rock and ballads that we've grown to expect from the band. Never Goodbye is my second favorite, a slower but emotionally powerful tune of regret:
Wish we would never grow up / never grow old / never goodbye / wish you were here today / never grow up / never grow old / never leaving me alone
A wailing guitar solo cuts in, perfectly reflecting the emotion before Brown adds,
so much more to say / but time gets in the way
A little authentic sorrow goes a long way in a music industry too often characterized by sappy sentiment with little connection to reality. The album ends with the best song, "The Dark Hills." Its brooding guitars and vocals present a problem and a powerful solution:
How heavy was the crown of thorns? / I wonder if I'm too far gone / They say Jesus walks the dark hills / he breaks bread with beggars and thieves / when I cry out in this darkness / when I fall down on my knees / when He walks the dark hills / when He walks the dark hills / when He walks the dark hills / I know He'll come for me / I know He'll come save me
Undoubtedly the song echoes some of Brown's past. His tenure as lead singer of Full Devil Jacket ended in 2000 after a heroin overdose during a tour with Creed. He subsequently became a Christian in rehab and worked as a dishwasher before a 2004 comeback with the Day of Fire debut. Now he's been known to take a guitar to places like the Dominican Republic and sing to the orphan kids. He's left the dark hills behind and moved into the light.
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