ALBUM REVIEW ~ RETURN TO DUST ~ 'RETURN TO DUST'

The new grunge inspired alternative rock band Return to Dust has officially released their self-titled debut album May 3rd, 2024! The quartet, made up of London Hudson, Matty Bielawski, Graham Stanush, and Sebastian Gonzalez, have been reaching quick new heights with their recent festival appearances at Sonic Temple and Welcome to Rockville. Additionally, their single “Belly Up” has gained traction on TikTok with over 3.1 million streams across DSPs, 57K Spotify Monthly Listeners, and 5.4 million total TikTok views. This comes as no surprise to fans new and old alike, as the band has a unique sound that pays homage to their ‘90s grunge roots such as Alice in Chains with dual lead vocals with intertwined harmonies sung by Bielawski and Stanush. Return to Dust harbors a diverse palette noting other diverse bands such as Deftones, Metallica, as inspiration!

“Belly Up” – Coming in with a hard and heavy groove, the driving sound of the dual vocals can be heard piercing through the verses, with great control of pitch pends. The guitar riffs allow for some spunk thrown in with the drum being showcased throughout the bridge. The song fades off around the 3:30 mark.

“Face Down” – Another driving tune with bass heavy tones throughout the verses that lead into a major chorus with the help of a drum fill for a change in direction that allows for the higher vocal range to be shown off. 2:05 begins a tasty guitar solo before the instrumentals drop out for quick vocal dependency. The song finishes with the driving instrumental backbone that cascades into guitar feedback into monitor heads.

“Anyway I Die” – Beginning with a more raw acoustic sound that shows influence from grunge pioneers such as Soundgarden and later on Audioslave with layering vocals and overdubs, it will catch any listener’s attention. The chorus is upbeat and easy to listen and sing along to, but the interlude is the cherry on top for this song, as it features a catchy underlying guitar riff with strong vocals.

“Live Like This” – A catchy acoustic riff with reverb electric guitar that helps the tempo to progress with the kick drum leads into the most perfect dual harmonies of this entire album (which is hard to rank). A guitar solo rocking from all forces begins at 2:35 with a great drum groove, at 3:40 reverb pitch bends and a subtle bass line helps the song to drift off.

“Strangers” – One of the most emotionally vulnerable songs on the entire album. The song begins with a singular guitar and vocals that will surely catch any listener’s attention with the eerie modality. The chorus quickly builds into 2:25 a great guitar solo is built up into a climax with dual lead vocals being overheard in the mix as well as backing vocals, until the end of the song fades off.

Released on May 3rd, 2024 be sure to get your hands on the new Return to Dust album quickly! Be sure to catch them supporting Chevelle this summer, as well as Sevendust in the fall.

Written by I’m Music Magazine Writer Angel Bohurjak