70%
The Breathing Method—After Everything Else (2025)
Details
Recorded at Ellis Music Studios. Produced by Jamie Haining. Self released on Friday 24 January 2025.
For fans of Therapy?, Stone Sour, Helmet
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Band
- Vocals—Scott Booth
- Lead/rhythm guitar—James Dougan
- Rhythm guitar/backing vocals—Jamie Haining
- Bass guitar/backing vocals—Gee McClure
- Drums—Duncan Brown
Tracks
- Hope for a better day
- All of my dreams
- Secrets
- Demons
- Unbearable
- Burden
- Tragic confusion
- Inside darkness
- Disappointed
- This time
- Jupiter
Review
After Everything Else (2025) is the debut album from the west coast of Scotland alt. rockers’ The Breathing Method.
The Breathing Method is a seasoned ensemble of musicians who fuse hard rock, grunge and a dash of punk rebellion to express the raw knocks of adulthood. With roots stretching back over 25 years this Scottish group hails from the historic county of Ayrshire, where a shared passion for gritty, authentic soundscapes has resulted in the band’s debut album.
The album is an unapologetic slab of hard hitting, heavy riffed post-grunge/alternative rock with a solid dose of humanity.
“Our music is a mirror to our lives, infused with personal battles against anxiety and depression,” says singer Scott Booth. “It’s not cliched to say that the struggles of daily existence and the courage needed to navigate life’s darkest corridors are common to so many. The album is a chart of our lives, how we were all involved with music in our formative years but gave it up to pursue careers and families and now this is us coming back to our first love After Everything Else (2025). It chronicles the struggles that we have all had in life with anxiety and depression, working jobs that you hate, working with unscrupulous people that will sell you out before they are hurt in any way and the general living of life. This album is a life’s work, literally! It is everything that we have faced, all the trials of being an adult that commits to society and everything that this entails. We hope the new music offers both solace and understanding to listeners,” concludes Booth.
The album opens with a monologue that begins, “You’re absolutely right, being in a band isn’t a great way to make a living. You know what, you should do it anyway…”
“Hope for a better day” (track 1) features a heavy, sludgy riff that sounds like a fusion of Helmet and Therapy? “All of my dreams” (track 2) leans heavily into that Therapy? influence but with hints of Bleach-era Nirvana. This bleeds into “Secrets” (track 3) which has a more punk influence.
The mood changes when the acoustic chords of “Demons” (track 4) rings out. This ballad-like track is a little let down by vocals that sit just a bit too far back in the mix. Which is a shame as it’s a good song.
The heaviness returns with a Helmet-like riff that introduces “Unbearable” (track 5) which bounces along like drill grinding its way through granite. “Burden” (track 6) is another bouncing, Helmet-esque offering that features a pleasing guitar melody that weaves between the slabs of heaviness.
Another change of pace, “Tragic confusion” (track 7) is a slow, contemplative song that gently glides through the verses, lifting a little here and there and playing host to a beautifully melodic guitar solo.
The rather inconguous, odd-one-out track is “Inside darkness” (track 8) which strays into a rock/rap section. It’s a decent song, but… where did that come from?
“Disappointed” (track 9) wanders between heavy and gentle riffs, a sleepy alt rock anthem. Similarly, “This time” (track 10) follows a gentler path, picking up a little pace at the end as it delves into a dark, sludgy riff.
The album closer “Jupiter” (track 11) rediscovers some of the energy of the first half of the album, but sadly the riff fails to inspire me very much. Leave the final track running for a couple of minutes and you’ll find the silly, vocals-only hidden track right at the end.
Conclusion
Before I heard it, I really want to like this album, not least because this band is from my home country of Scotland. I think my main criticism is that the album just feels a little too long and some of the later songs lose energy and focus for me. I enjoyed the dark, deep, sludgy Helmet-meets-Therapy? vibe of the album, but with each track I don’t find myself straying too far from those comparisons. The mix has a bit of a muffled sound and the vocals sit a bit isolated. But I really am just being picky here. One the positive side, there is a really dynamic to the song order, it’s clear that’s been carefully considered.
All bands need to start somewhere—write what you know, evolve, discover your own voice, find your own sound, create your own style. I’m never going to punish a band for revealing their influences early on.
Overall, I really enjoyed this slab of western Scottish rock even if it feels a little too long and could do with some editing down to create a little more focus. But if you like your alt rock a bit sludgy and pleasingly heavy, check out The Breathing Method, just maybe they’ll take your breath away.
Oh, and I love the cover.
Review score: 70%
Video
Disclosure
Rob at Stampede Press contacted me inviting me to preview The Breathing Method’s forthcoming album, thank you. I have no connections to either Stampede Press or The Breathing Method. I’m not being paid to review this, but I did get a free digital copy of the album to review which is pretty cool. Many thanks to Rob from Stampede Press, and to The Breathing Method for continuing to create fresh, exciting new alternative rock.