Broken Past release “Some Gave All” Single-Video

Broken Past’s “Some Gave All” is a patriotic song in the way it honors the sacrifices made by American military men and women, but far from some flag-waving meathead exercise. There are superb musical talents bringing this performance to life. The New Jersey four piece band adopts different styles during this six minute plus track ranging from hushed verses, scalding instrumental workouts, and meaningful individual flourishes enriching our enjoyment of the track. Their skill shifting gears from those aforementioned muted passages into speedier and rough-hewn riffing with a much harder edge. It is easy for me to “buy” them in either role; part of the joy hearing “Some Gave All” is noting how Broken Past are more than an one trick musical pony.

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The song’s subject matter dictates a heavy listening experience. You cannot write a light-hearted ditty about how enlisted men and women risk life and limb for American ideals, but Broken Past don’t lean so hard into the subject that the listening experiences dampens your spirit. “Some Gave All” has an inspired spirit, instead, and brims with obvious respect for its subject matter. It never plays as a “safe” track either, one you practically can’t criticize because of the subject matter, but Broken Past’s songwriting and performance bubbles with deep sincerity.

Wayne White’s guitar playing will score big with many listeners, but this is a full band performance. The rhythm section of founding member Tony Rodríguez on bass and Bryan Stager playing drums provides the cut with a powerful yet mobile foundation. You’ll never accuse Stager and Rodriguez of lifeless playing. It is refreshing to hear such capable individual musicians working together as an unit rather than another band serving as a glorified vehicle for meaningless six string heroics.

The vocal is full of tasteful dramatics. Frank Acee brings the right amount of gravel into his phrasing without giving up musicality. He has an impassioned delivery that invests the song’s lyrical content with layers of added feeling, but there’s another quality that stands out. It is all too easy, given the song’s topic, that the performance could lapse into sentimentality or heavy-handed finger pointing. It, instead, benefits from a serious yet measured Acee vocal. He finds the pathos rather overplaying his hand.

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Broken Past offer an excellent video for the song as well. It has a traditional slant for a promotional clip insofar as it incorporates performance footage into the presentation, but its use of historical films to underline its message about war’s hard truth shows a higher intelligence at work. The quality of the video belies the band’s independent status; it looks five-star in every respect. “Some Gave All” deserves the full attention of anyone who appreciates well-crafted and forceful metal music. Hard rock fans will appreciate this track as well. New Jersey is responsible for producing an assortment of significant rock acts and, based on this track alone, Broken Past seems poised to join their company. They merit your ongoing attention and reward it without fail.  

Michael Rand