'The Lotus Chapters'- Above, Below Review

Written by: Jayme Stewart

Above, Below recently released their album ‘The Lotus Chapters’ and it certainly tells a story. The album is split into three different chapters, ‘Seed’, ‘Flourish’ and ‘Bloom’, and right away the theming of the album is already impressive. Each chapter contains four songs, totalling twelve songs on the full album.

The first chapter, ‘Seed’, sets the album off so well. The opening track ‘Chapter I: Seed’ is a soft song, and it goes really well with the idea of just starting out. It starts off small and soft and builds into more as it goes along, which was very well thought out by them. The second track in chapter one is ‘Eternal Sunshine’. This song features more heavy elements, and mixes screams and singing very well. The transition from the heavier verses to the softer chorus is beautifully done, and it is a song that really ties the softer first track to more following heavy tracks very well. 

The third track in chapter one is ‘Labyrinth’. This song has a similar flow to the previous, where softer and heavier elements are smoothly mixed together in one song. This song is very well written both lyrically and instrumentally, and it makes a very good listen. The last track in chapter one is ‘Kensho’. This track has my favorite sound from chapter one. The vocals are very strong and impactful, and the lyrics are very well written. This song is a good listen from start to finish, and the mixing of heavier elements works very well. The screams add a contrast between the serene sounding instrumentals and it makes a very interesting listen.

The second chapter, ‘Flourish’, opens with the track titled ‘Chapter II: Flourish’. Again, they have a very soft peaceful song to act as the introduction song which I think works very well. It breaks up the album a bit and really shows the angle of theming they were going for. The second song of the second chapter is called ‘Mantra’. This song starts off with a sound that resembles nature to me, which is very fitting to the theme of flourishing. It is a heavy song, but it does mix in some very nice sounding softer vocals as well. The mix of the vocals in this song is one of my personal favorites from the album. The song sounds really good, and the lyrics caught my attention more than some of the others. 

The next song is called ‘Blood Wine’. This song is definitely one of the more heavy ones on the album, and it works really well. It is heavy but it still has this pretty edge to it with the instrumentals breaking up part of it.  This song features some of my favorite screams from the album, and I think that it is a really well made song. The chorus is softer, which helps it to still tie into the flow of the rest of the album. The final song in Chapter two is ‘Beyond The Mosaic Garden’. Right away this song captured my attention. The title is very interesting and the sound of it starting off gives a very cultural vibe. It has a different sound from the prior songs, and it really helped make it stand out. This song is one that sticks out a lot and mixes all of the elements from the previous songs and adds even more to it.

The final chapter is ‘Bloom’, the first song being titled ‘Chapter III: Bloom’. This song is one of my favorite transition songs, it has a very nice sound to it and creates an atmosphere of wonder. The second song from Chapter three is ‘Equilibrium’ which features a guitar solo from Ryan Siew of Polaris. The feature on this song really makes this song stand out. His voice with the vocalists of Above, Below mixes in a way that adds something really fresh to the album. This song has a more relaxed vibe to it than the others, the instrumental is really chill in a ‘vibe’ sort of way, that will appeal to a lot of listeners. It feels like a really classic sort of sound. 

The third song is ‘The Gradient Lake’. This is another one of my favorites from the album. The vocals and lyrics in this song are so powerful and carry such emotion. It resonates inside of the listener and creates a journey that makes it feel like more than just a song. The chorus of this song is really pretty and emotional as well, the song works very well overall. The last track on the album is titled ‘Lotus’, which references the title of the album ‘The Lotus Chapters’. The drums on this song stood out to me a lot, they sound so amazing and it really helps to make the sound sound powerful from the very start. The tempo of this song is really unique compared to the others, it has a really good sound to it. This song is very enjoyable from start to finish, and I think that it was a perfect song to end the album on.

Overall, ‘The Lotus Chapters’ was amazing from start to finish. With the theming, I expected the album to take me on some sort of journey- and it certainly did. It felt like I was transported through this magical place full of transformation and change. I enjoyed the songs that brought a little something extra to the plate, and I think that this album is one that will be able to appeal to a lot of people because it does have such a good sound and pacing. The album goes through softer transitions, heavy hitting verses and smooth choruses and they made it all work. This album is one people should definitely check out.