You’ve got your entire life to release your first album. For most bands and entertainers, a debut album defines a certain style and foreshadows their evolution as artists. The third studio release from the Welsch alternative rock group lostprophets carries the same expectations as any, but with the release of Liberation Transmission comes the credibility that even the most established bands don’t possess.

Bob Rock produced Metallica’s infamous self titled ‘black album’ in 1991, as well as Motley Crue’s 1989 Dr. Feelgood record. He’s a legend in an industry he has been a part of since before most of the members of the lostprophets were born. And while Rock lent his technical expertise to the production of the album, the band wasn’t alone when recording it either. Acclaimed drummer Josh Freese of A Perfect Circle and The Vandals is featured on the album as well as 17-year-old drumming phenomenon Ilan Rubin.

Liberation Transmission begins right where the band’s previous album Start Something left off. With a quick and aggressive melody and a fast back beat, the first track “Everyday Combat” proves every bit as pop/punk/rock as ever. Long, desperate and tragic wails of hopeless angst are sprinkled throughout the song as vocalist Ian Watkins so articulately describes the hellish “combat” of a rock band: “this is what we live and what we see/ dance club, strip light, get drunk, no sight, watch it ignite.” What a tragic and tortuous life it must be. Combat indeed.

But then the tone changes ever so subtly. The mindless screaming that defines the pathetic emo-rock genre disappears. The album takes shape with a clean and refined sound that produces such a mature posture that it almost makes up for all the other undecipherable shrills radiating from guys hiding behind their long black hair.

The album’s first single “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)” is exactly what fans of lostprophets should come to expect. A soft lead in, and a smooth and catchy chorus accents the melancholy lyrics of sentimental sorrow that draws an audience like a moth to a flame. Watkins’ gentle and almost vulnerable voice seems to float right over the instrumental prose and only claims the spotlight at the height of the stirring chorus. The backup vocals echoing from Watkins that were also so prevalent on the single “Last Train Home” can be heard on this track as well.

The defining moment of the record, however, is the energetically charged ballad, “For all these times son. For all these times.” The simple yet almost profound songwriting featured on the track is what personifies the album and sets it apart from its prior productions. “Part of knowing where you’re going is knowing where you’re coming from/ the hardest part of moving forward are the times where we all stand alone.” Maybe it’s just me, but it’s nice to hear a song once in a while that actually gives a message of hope, rather than despair.

For their efforts, Rock and the lostprophets have developed a follow-up product that’s exceeded the expectations that spawned from the success and popularity of Start Something. With a well rounded blend of alternative and pop melodies with succinct and genuine lyrics, Liberation Transmission may be the next big step for the four lads from Wales.

Rating: 3 Stars

Total stars possible: 4

Josh Huggett can be reached at [email protected]