“Heart of a Warrior” single by Seedless

Orange County-based band Seedless seems to unceasingly push the boundaries of ‘reggae’ into a more contemporary category – even braving virgin reggae territory with an infusion of post-hardcore, hip hop and metalcore. For instance, many tracks incorporate a double-bass drum and thrash metal guitar riffs, two entities conspicuously absent in the agenda of their roots-reggae peers. Now, with a sophomore album release on the horizon, Seedless is ready to take the scene by charge.

When their debut album Twisted Roots rendered Seedless instant acclaim in 2010, the band has since been showcasing sequential singles to keep the hype flowing. Tracks like “Baby Don’t Go” featuring Essel Liufau or the edgy rock-anthem “Bullet” have made major waves for the band in the recent past, making it clear that something brilliant could be right around the corner. Once again, the men of Seedless have prominently outdone themselves in their latest track “Heart of a Warrior”: a blend of hip hop, rock-n-roll, metal, rap, spoken word and – last, but not least – reggae.

Laden with battle lingo, the single proceeds to explode “like a shotgun’s blast”; the message to serve and protect ricochets through the listener’s central nervous system

The song is a call to action: unite as a brute force to take charge of the world you inhabit. It starts with a sense of urgency, encompassed within Matt Liufau’s chanting mantra and rising lead guitar riffs. Then, the beat hits. Shay Pino’s drumming style is always distinctive, but he emphasizes a more tribal timbre in this track – with loud declarative snare hits – as if his beat is emanating from an aboriginal war dance of another era. Once past the introduction, the tempo fades as melodic keys momentarily soothe the listener’s engaged fight or response. As per usual, don’t get too comfortable. Laden with battle lingo, the single proceeds to explode “like a shotgun’s blast”; the message to serve and protect ricochets through the listener’s central nervous system “like we’re headed out to war”. Instead of invading a foreign nation, however, Seedless demands Americans to open their eyes to the pitfalls of their own government. With political commentary such as “elected officials can no longer be trusted”, Seedless brings to the forefront not only the blatant corruption ongoing within American legislature, but the fact that we, as citizens, are the ignorant ones to blame for putting these individuals into office in the first place. Wake up and smell the rotten roses, voters. This fuel-injected track falters to a mellow piano and strings finish, which adds a last minute air of class to an already highly masterful composition.

Seedless “Heart of a Warrior”

For more information about Seedless, give them a follow on Facebook.

Share this article

or

Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.