I Prevail gives us a boost of adrenaline on "Post Traumatic"

Let me preface this by saying that when I Prevail released their album Trauma, it quite literally changed my life. It was my album of the year for 2019. So when I heard they were releasing a live version, my excitement was unreal. In a world where a grimy general admission concert is off limits for the foreseeable future, a live album is exactly what we need so we can lock ourselves in our rooms, blast the music and try to relive those live music memories. Post Traumatic delivers exactly that.

Something that I loved about this album before even listening to it was that, unlike a traditional live album, each of the songs is recorded from a different location. When you look at all the live albums available, you’ll notice that most of them are live from a specific show so you’re listening to the whole show from that night. Post Traumatic took a different approach. When you look at the track listing, you see that each recording happened at a different location around the world. I think this gives you a better feeling for how consistent this band is when it comes to the energy they have in each and every performance.

Each live version of the song gives you the feeling of being in a dark, crowded venue surrounded by the smell of sweat. The opening track, “Bow Down,” provides those precious moments of anticipation as the lights go down and you’re impatiently waiting for the band to enter and the spike of adrenaline as the first notes are played. Each track gives off the live energy and special commentary that connects the band with the crowd at a show. It allows you to see inside their minds and connect with what the song means to them in their lives. Something that stood out to me: instead of following the traditional format of each song flowing into each other as it’s performed live, it’s in the same listing order as the original album release. This allows the listener to still get the feeling of a live show, while also letting us relive how we felt when we first got to experience the Trauma era of I Prevail.

While each track provides its own form of energy and entertainment, as a live music junkie I have to give a special shoutout to a couple tracks that really spiked my adrenaline and got me hyped up, while also making me a bit nostalgic for live shows. The first track that got me truly fired up was “Gasoline.” This was my favorite track off of the original release. Listening to the live version brought me right back to the pit and had me starting a solo mosh in my bedroom. Another track that hit me right in my soul was “Deadweight” feat. Caleb Shomo. Something about this live recording had all the blood rushing to my skull. If you’re looking for some hype songs to get you going, I highly recommend these two.

Along with a live version of every track off of Trauma, Post Traumatic also includes the tracks “Feel Something” a genre crossing collaboration with EDM artists Illenium and Excision, “DOA” with Joyner Lucas that brings a hard hitting new verse to the original recording, a reimagined version of “Hurricane” that takes you on a somber journey through a hard time in the band’s career, and finishes off with an acoustic version of “Every Time You Leave” feat. Delaney Jane that they put together during the COVID 19 quarantine.

Overall, Post Traumatic gave me the energy and adrenaline that I have been missing in my life since live shows have become a thing of the past. I will admit the format strays from what you would expect from a live album, but it didn’t disappoint in transporting me into the pit and allowing me to remember how great this industry is in providing an escape when you need to decompress from the stresses of the wild world we’re currently existing in.