Metal band ANCHOR, born in 2007 in Sweden, released two prior albums but came back in April with their third release "Distance & Devotion".  Through the years Anchor has played over 450 shows on five continents and closing in on 40 countries. These guys know how to tour. The release of "Distance & Devotion" is filled with "frustration, personal struggle, firm convictions, and deeply rooted ethics." Thus, creating a heavy and hard-hitting rock album with more melody and a better arrangement to already energy filled songs. "Distance & Devotion" comes in with eleven tracks and a listening time of just over 32 minutes.

From first listen, I wasn't wholly impressed by the sound. The vocals are monotone and have almost no range and sound like were laid on top of the music. The guitars are interesting and when you can get a good listen to them over the vocals, they create a lot of diversity within the album. I also enjoyed the bass line. It is super low and gives a bit of depth to the music. The drums keep a steady and decent beat throughout. Musically, the album is OK. I even sympathize with the lyrical content. The vocals just throw "Distance & Devotion" off, they are very Punk-ish and not really the Rock I was expecting. Luckily the music isn't overboard with Punk elements.

"Distance", track four, is a pretty cool interlude track that shows a more creative side from ANCHORS. The track is percussion and guitar heavy but has some Alternative elements mixed in. Another track I enjoyed one of the ones that was a slower track for the album "Roads Unknown", track eight. This track is heavier in Rock elements than they are in Punk. "Devotion", track nine is another interlude track that is also just an instrumental that is even heavier with bass and guitars and less ambient-esque that the first interlude.

There are some musical gems on "Distance and Devotion" that will allow for an OK listen, however, overall the album left me underwhelmed. There wasn't enough vocal range and I felt like I was listening to the same exact vocals throughout the albums entirety.