Oh Sleeper - Son of the Morning

Oh Sleeper – Son of the Morning

In hardcore nothing new seems to be a trend. Nothing new, nothing lost, nothing gained. If you’re a fan, you’re still a fan. If you’re not, no need to reapply. Oh Sleeper’s sophomore effort isn’t anything new to the band or the genre. If anything I find Son of the Morning less compelling than When I Am God.

Musically Son of the Morning is your standard metalcore record: Screamed verses, clean sung choruses, triggered replaced drums. This album represents a problem in hardcore. The album is so tight and on point perfect to the formula we’ve heard far too many times in the last 10 years that it doesn’t showcase, what is honestly, good songwriting and a good record. You could come up with a playlist of 24 metalcore bands hit random and you’d never be able to tell the difference. Every drum hit and sound is exactly the same on hardcore records across the board. (Maybe being a drummer and recording engineer I’m being too hard and judgmental on this)

As for an album in a scene filled with kids who wear girls pants and shop at Hot Topic, Oh Sleeper’s Son of the Morning should not disappoint their fan base. The album does lose some of the atmospheric sound that made me take note of When I Am God but that’s a minor note on what is our basic metalcore record.

The record feels very similar to Underoath’s Lost in the Sound of Separation, which is probably a pretty good jumping place for people who haven’t heard Oh Sleeper before. The clean vocals aren’t as nice as Underoath or Killswitch and the melody isn’t as strong but I don’t think that’s the point. The record is heavy. It’s not melodic hardcore or screamo, it’s a metalcore record from start to finish, and that’s fine.

I do like the record. Not as much as When I Am God but it’s good. I’d put it in my car while driving or in the cd player while running. There's no bad song on the album... There's just also nothing that jumps out at you. It’s heavy and I like heavy… it’s just nothing new or original.

On Son of the Morning the theme is If It’s Not Broke, Don’t Fix it.

New Music Tuesday

I'm not sure if anything note worth other then the new Oh Sleeper album is out today. Maybe the new Skillet?

Every Time I Die is releasing the video for their song Wanderlust today.

The Chariot - Wars and Rumors of War

I am going to attempt to review a handful of records that came out earlier in 2009 (mostly the ones I liked). So here we go.

The Chariot are awesome. They have done something very few bands have done, captured their pure raw energy on an album. And to be fair, on every album. Everything is Alive didn't strike with me but Kenny Gibler from the Unsung ep was enough for me to pick up The Fiancée, which is a great album. Wars and Rumors of Wars is incredible start to finish. It is loud, heavy, chaotic, and just plain rocking. The Chariot is upfront and unashamed that although their performance might not be perfect, you will witness something raw and real. The revolving door of members that has left only Josh Scogin (ex Norma Jean) as the only original member hasn't slowed the band down one bit and hasn't changed their sound or furry.

The albums artwork is hand stamped, numbered, and signed by the band, which in and of itself makes it worth every penny of the $7 I paid at Best Buy for the album. From the opening scream on Teach to the final feedback on Mrs. Montgomery Alabama III the album rocks. It's hard for me to describe how good this album is. Honestly the Chariot haven't varied in style much but refined what the do and they do it well. Wars and Rumors of Wars is another great chaotic record from the Chariot and I think their best to date.

Mutemath - Armistice

Mutemath is the band the arose out of the ashes of the great christian elctro funk rock band Earthsuit. I love Earthsuit. Great band. Great great band. Mutemath has not clicked in the same way. The debut ep had some very enjoyable songs and the self-titled full length was pretty strong. But the hype of their great live show (which they brought to national television on the Jimmy Kimmel show) never seemed to match the recorded version. (BTW, I've seen them live and they are incredible.)

From small club shows to stadiums and national tv, Mutemath has returned with their second full length Armistice. And honestly it's been hard for me to make it through the record start to finish. It's not that the album is bad or the songs don't seems to work, it's more that I'm bored. The energy that is Mutemath live is still yet to be captured on album. Put these boys in the studio together at the same and roll tape. The songs are good and move from one to another with ease but there isn't really anything on Armistice that we haven't heard from them before.

The albums opener, The Nerve, is my favorite. It's an up tempo, drum driven, funk rock track. Tracks like Backfire, Spotlight, Electrify, and Burden have the elements to be great rock tracks but the energy coming out of my cd player never seems fully realized. The production is tight and songs are well written, well performed, and good.

Maybe I'm not hipster enough to get it, maybe I'm not the target audience, maybe my love for Earthsuit clouds my judgement of Mutemath, I don't know. If you were a fan of Mutemath before this record, you'll enjoy this record and continue being a fan. If you weren't... there probably isn't too much hope of that changing. This album seems a little more streamed line the the self-titled but the songs sound like Mutemath and they haven't strayed very far from the path.

New Converge Song!!!!!

HOLY FLYING MONKEYS THERE'S A NEW CONVERGE SONG ONLINE!!!!!

Go to http://www.myspace.com/converge and give it a listen. It kicks serious ass!

New Music Tuesday

65daysofstatic, Mutemath, and Mount Eerie all have new records today.You can also download the lastest Silent Ballet compilation for free(thesilentballet.com).

Bonus, at some point during the day Every Time I Die Will be posting a new song on their myspace page.

Thrice - Beggars

So I've only gotten into Thrice this past year. Enjoyed Vheissu. The Alchemy Index was very good and Artist in the Ambulance and Illusion of Safety are very good. I enjoy Thrice. They're a nice band. They make mine post-hardcore/emo. I have no problem with Thrice but I'm not a huge fan.

Beggars might be this years Anti-Mother, meaning it might not leave my cd player for the rest of the year. It's good. I mean it's really good. I knew it was good listening to it on myspace but having burn it onto a cd (It's currently an itunes only album. The actualy cd comes out in a month), it's very good. I'm completely in love with Beggars. From the opening bass line of All the World is Mad to the final guitar feedback on Beggars this is one quality record. This record continues Thrice's departure from the post-hardcore side of music plants them as a great rock band. It's not epic in scale but it is quality, solid, well written, well produced songs from start to finish.

The albums two opening tracks, All the World is Mad, and The Weight, are both kick you in the teeth, hard rocking songs. Circles bring things down in what I think is the prettiest song on the record. Doublespeak is a piano lead rock song. In Exile and At the Last are rocking songs, Wood and Wire breaks it back down, Through the Glass kicks it back up and the last two songs (The Great Exchange and Beggars) end the record very chill.

Dustin Kensrue has written some of the best and most personal lyrics I think he has ever written. Songs about love and being imperfect meld from to the other. I love the way is voice moves from quiet singing to yelling. I haven't heard anything by Thrice this compelling and this enjoyable. I highly encourage people to this album when the cd hits stores.

Caspian - Tertia

I've been meaning to review this record for a while but I haven't. Partly because I'm not sure what to say about this record, partly because I like it more every time I listen to it.

My first impression of the album went something along the lines of these are some really good songs that are arranged terribly, in as the track listing needs to be fixed because the record climaxes and then peters out. Not good. My other issue was the production... isn't as clean as it could be. There seems to have been an eq left on that shouldn't have. The drums are a muddy sounding and the overall record has very little in the way of high end dynamics.

All that to say... I do like the album. If my biggest issue with the album if the track order, which I can can go into itunes and rearrange the order to my liking, then the record can't be terrible.

The intro Mie is a little ambient piece into a short piano interlude that at first felt weird but the more I've listened to the album the more fitting it feels. That jumps right into La Cerva a straight forward rock piece. No post rock building, just straight into the loud parts. The record follows suit as much as you'd expect a post rock album to flow. Loud crescendos down into quiet ambient pieces moving to another crescendo.

The record flows in a manner that's very easy to listen to and not jarring until we reach the final two tracks. The Raven is a great song that builds and crescendos and moves as a good closing. It would be a great end to Tertia. But their are two songs that follow the Raven. Vienna, a very nice ambient piece in the vain of Hammock that moves into Sycamore, which does make for a nice album close. It's not that I dislike these two pieces of music, in fact I really like them. My problem is that The Raven was such a good song with high energy that these tracks just seems to bring the same emotion that the rest of the record has. Good songs, misplaced. It's even hard for me to say that they don't belong at the end because they're good songs and Scyamore works as a closer the way Vienna flows into it works nice. But the disconnect between The Raven and the heaviness of the rest of the album just makes these two tracks... standout.

I love Caspian and I really enjoy this record. If you've never listened to Caspian I might suggest listening to their album The Four Trees first. It's good post rock.

Showbread - The Fear of God

So technically the new Thrice album came out today but only on itunes. Just wait until October and buy the cd.

The Fear of God, the new album from Showbread did come out today.

Showbread has always seemed like a band I should really be into. I mean they're in that post-hardcore/post-punk/loud, fast, rock genre that I enjoy. They're slightly controversial in lyrical content, which means I should fawn over them. But I don't. I've always been too bored with them. Of course their are songs I like but the albums have never struck me as anything special or worth my attention.

But Fear of God captures something different. It's fast, loud, meaningful, soulful, heart-wrenching, and just good. Not great but good. You'd put this on your car for a Sunday afternoon joyride or on while running. But at it's core is so much more then just a rock album (and it is a rock album). Lyrically the album revolves around the theme that man is evil and the world is a pretty messed up place and only God can save us, which I think is bested showed in the album's title track (and in my opinion the best track on the album period).


"Dear God, why should I think You’re good in a world that’s falling apart?
The flags and lies, picket signs raised high, the endless enveloping dark
Now here we sit, drifting further from You, two thousand years on their way out
Now here I am, as I’ve grown to know You, still haunted by my fears and my doubts

Just a man, just a vapor, just a waste of your space
All the good that I’ve done is in spite of myself
I’m not sure that I can look You in Your face when I finally set foot in Your kingdom

Dear God, what went wrong? We hate ourselves, we hate our brother
We so desperately want to find our way, and all You say is "love one another"

And little babies starve to death, emaciated, out of breath
Unfaithful wives make vows untrue, husbands beat them black and blue
Junkies vomit in the streets, writhing, twitching in their skin
Sell themselves to die some more, rotting from the outside in
Parents steal the innocence from their children, scared and shaking
Drink away the guilt at night, brings quiet to the endless aching
And evil men boast on TV, swimming in a sea of wealth
While misery beds honest men, and lonely people kill themselves
And everyone cries out Your name, as the world is raped by selfishness
And no one knows the way to heaven, we only know the emptiness
And the storm it rages in my heart, and the endless empty roars in my ears
My world is coming all apart, I’ve no strength left to dry my tears
And through it all I hear Your voice, breaking my heart, breaking my will
Calms the storm inside my soul as You whisper "peace, be still..."

You place Your hands around my heart, You quiet the emptiness in me
A king that kneels, a God made a servant, You set the captives free
You wait for me, a wretch of a man, no record of wrongs do You keep
You are comfort when I mourn, You are strength when I am weak
Jesus Christ, the king of kings
Though we ache, though we cry, never break, never die
We sing of His great love again and again
And His love reigns forever, and forevermore
Forever and ever, Amen"

It's really all I can say about the record. It's fast, loud, energetic. It makes me want to go back and go through the Showbread catalog and I look forward to more from Showbread in the future. But I will continue to enjoy and spin this album. Check out "The Fear of God".

The Sweetest Curse

Baroness is a pretty kick ass stoner metal band. They have posted a brand new track on their myspace page. Check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/yourbaroness

A couple of noteworthy things

It's been a busy Tuesday.

1. The new album from Iron Age, "The Sleeping Age" is streaming over at metalsucks.net This album reminds me of Ride the Lightning era Metallica. Good stuff.

2. So... I just discovered Saint. They're an Christian metal band from 80's. Reminds me Judas Priest, Black Sabbath (Dio era), and Dio( without the rainbows). I'm kind of a sucker for old school metal and I'm without a doubt a sucker for Christian metal from the 80's. This isn't Stryper (which we already know how I feel about them), this is just straight forward, balls out (or in because this is a christian band) metal. Give me a listen.

http://www.myspace.com/saintmetal

Thrice - Beggars

The brand new Thrice record is streaming on myspace. I've only listened to the first 3 tracks so far but I dig.

http://www.myspace.com/thrice

Update: I've listened to it all. It's good. It's really good. I won't be buying this on itunes next week. I'll have to wait until October when the actual cd is out.

New Music Tuesday

Not a very good new release Tuesday. There's a Modest Mouse album that's all b-sides of stuff that's been released in some form. A new Soul Junk record. I didn't know Soul Junk still made music.

Neither of those will I be reviewing.

Muse - United States of Eurasia

A lot of content early this morning. I remembered what I was going to post yesterday.

I guess this is a new Muse song. I will say upfront that I don't get Muse. They have talent and their record Absolution had some catchy songs. Their current single is called United States of Eurasia. Muse must love Queen because they're trying their best to be Queen. I personally would just rather listen to Queen.

Issues

I mean to post something yesterday... It was awesome... but I forgot.

Map is a great band from California on Velvet Blue Music. They have a new record out later this month. It's called Speechless and unlike former map albums this one will be mostly instrumentals. What I've heard so far is amazing.