Is it possible for an album to be brilliant and disappointing at the same time? That's how I feel about Mastodon's newest record, The Hunter. Which has made this album really hard to review. I love it... But I don't think it touches the epic greatness that was Crack the Skye.
On a musical level The Hunter has a lot of similar qualities as Crack the Skye. It's not like Mastodon went out of their way to create a different sound. The songs are shorter and less rifftastic but still solid. And tracks like Black Tongue, Stargasm, and The Hunter sound like they could easily fit in the middle of Crack the Skye. There are some great elements that harken back to Mastodon's earlier work (Blasteroid, Curl of the Burl, Spectrelight) as while as a whole bunch of new elements to the Mastodon sound.
The Hunter is a great record and I've been spinning it and loving it for days... But something's still missing. There was something that made Crack the Skye incredible that's just not on The Hunter. Great record, absolutely! But not on of my favorites of the year.
Early this year the Make released This Box , one of my favorite records of the year. Well today the band has released their brand new single Fever and it's awesome! The band continues to release great music and this single has me looking forward to the new full-length.
Overhauling your sound is one of the riskiest things a band can do. Fans will either embrace the change with you or lash out in anger. I've done both. I had heard that Maylene was switching their sound up on the bands fourth full-length but didn't listen to any of the tracks before I picked up the record.
IV has blown my mind. I've always liked MATSOD southern infused metal but IV is really scaled back. At various times it's sludgy and grunge infused but there are moments where the band has written some beautiful rock songs you'll hear this year.
In Dead We Dream kicks the album off in typical Maylene high-energy fashion. A great riff to kick the album off in high gear. And even though Dallas' vocals are slightly different, In Dead We Dream didn't prepare for what I was going to hear next. Save Me comes in subtly, light palm muted guitar and Dallas singing. Faith Healer sounds more like Jimmy Eat World then MATSOD and that's not a complaint. Faith Healer is a killer song. Open Your Eyes has some southern twinge in the opening riff but it's just another stellar rock song. Their southern sensibilities still come through but its songs like Faith Healer, Taking on Water, and Come For You
Maylene has stepped up their song writing ability and really challenged their sound creating an amazing record. It took me by surprise, as it will many. But although it’s extremely different from the bands previous work, I would say it's their best.
Switchfoot has always been a band that I've had a hard time really connecting with. The band writes great songs but I've never been able to dig into an entire record since The Legend of Chin. Vice Verses is much of the same. A lot of great songs but the album as a whole... I'm having a hard time connecting.
Afterlife is a strong opener and what I would consider a pretty standard Switchfoot rock song. But the overall sound on Vice Verses is more... Mature? Adult? Less rowdy? I don't quite know how to describe it. The Original is a fantastic rock song but it doesn't have the same kick that I've come to expect from Switchfoot. Think The Sound with less oomph. But like most Switchfoot records, my favorite moments are the low key ones. Restless and Thrive are beautiful songs and my favorites on the record.
Switchfoot is a solid band. They always have been and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Some minor shifts in sound but Vice Verses is another solid Switchfoot record. The band might not be winning any news fan with this album but long times of fans shouldn't be disappointed.
I was a big fan of Oh, Sleeper's debut When I Am God but Son of the Morning just didn't click with me. So picking up Children of Fire, I wasn't sure what to expect. And then I read this in Hopecore magazine:
"Micah Kinard of Oh Sleeper is the Anti-Christ”. You didn’t know? According to a recent “Christian” website, Kinard “has the voice of a demon” which any metal dude would find amazingly complimentary, is “leading many to hell” and apparently is the number one ranked potential “Anti-Christ” amongst heavy Christian bands."
As one of instantly loves Christian controversy, I was excited to listen to Children of Fire.
Children of Fire might be the darkest and most evil Christian record ever released. Writing a record about the world without God is bound to lead to some dark and evil content and Kinard delivers. Having said that, there is hope that comes out of the darkness.
When the hook on Shed Your Souls kicks in and Kinard screams "I Saw God Die", it sets the tone. The Marriage of Steel and Skin is about a father who takes justice and kills his daughter’s rapist. Hush Yael, a song about the murder of a family and justice being taken. The song gives me chills. Kindard screaming "End Him Slow" at the end of song... It’s a powerful track.
Means To Believe begins a shift in tone lyrically. The song is a crying out for something more. In The Wake of Pigs is about having followed false leaders and looking for something real. The Family Ruin is an intense song that's the follow up to The Marriage of Steel and Skin, as the daughter, who's coming back to God is contemplating taking her fathers life.
Chewing the Stitch is a beautiful song about finding new life in God. The title track, and album's closer, Children of Fire, is a great picture of calling out for God and God seeing the faithful.
While musically there might not be a ton of new things happening, Children of Fire connects with me more then any other metalcore record I've heard this year. The album is so compelling lyrically that it merits being heard.
While I love music of all genres and my favorite bands range from the likes of Zao to Starflyer 59 to Mxpx, post rock is my favorite genre of music. The Silent Ballet is a webzine dedicated to the genres of post rock, ambient, and electronic music. One of the great things about The Silent Ballet is they have free compilations on their site. There are currently 16 compilations and they have introduced my to great bands like Caspian, Giants, and New Century Classics.
My favorite compilations are 2, 4, 6, 9, and 10. But they're all great.
I had mixed praise for The Devil Wears Prada's Zombie EP. The band had taken steps that did impress me and I did like songs on the album but the album still hinted at to many things that made me dislike the band in the first place.
The bands fourth full-length, Dead Throne, is the best thing the band has ever done. Mike Hranica's vocals sound better then they ever had. The clean vocals, while generic as hell, are void of any auto-tune or vocoders. The songs are heavier then anything TDWP has ever done. The hooks on Mammoth and Vengeance sound exactly like genre peers As I Lay Dying and while Hranica yelling "Pick it up" after the first chorus of Mammoth is super cheesy, it works for TDWP. Through and through it's metalcore as we've come to know (and loathe).
But what makes this the best thing The Devil Wears Prada have released is also its undoing. Dead Throne is enjoyable for the first half of the album. Kansas serves as an instrumental bridge between an album I was enjoying and an album that bores me. By the time I got to the albums first single, Born To Lose, I was over Dead Throne. Not because the songs get bad, I was just hoping for something else. Born To Lose builds in a similar manner that Dead Throne (the album's first track) does and its as if the album is restarting. I felt like I was hearing the album over again. Guitar riffs blend together, the songs don't differentiate themselves from track to track. Constance is a fan favorite (mostly because it features Tim Lambesis as a guest vocalist but by the time the song rolls around UI found myself largely already checked out.
It's the best album The Devil Wears Prada has released thus far in their career and it still couldn't capture my attention for an entire record. Dead Throne probably won't be winning a lot of new fans for TDWP.
While most Thrice fans weren't thrilled with the bands last album, Beggars is the record that made me a fan. Beggars got me into the band and made me want to check out the bands discography.
Major/Minor isn't a shift back to The Artist in the Ambulance but a continuation of what the band did with Beggars. That's not to say older fans will dislike this record. Right out of the box Major/Minor has a more intense tone. It has that aggression that Beggars was missing.
The bass riff that leads off the album on Yellow Belly is gritty. Promises is The Weight part two, as Kensrue sets his lyrically sites back on marriage and the worlds lack of commitment. Both Blinded and Cataracts musically sound like they would have fit in on Beggars but Kensrue's screaming vocals ramp the songs to another level. Call It In the Air is one of my favorite tracks on the record (probably because it reminds me of Beggars most). Blur will probably be a fan favorite. The track hits on a level similar to older Thrice songs. Fast, heavy, varying off rhythms.
There's nothing to hate on Major/Minor. Thrice have created another masterpiece and one of my favorite albums of the year. Don't miss this album!
After a week out of town and a busy schedule I'm back with lots of albums to reviews. I have the new Devil Wears Prada, Oh Sleeper, Thrice, Creations, The Hawk in Paris, and Switchfoot all in my playlist for review. Let's do this!
Sometimes you just download an album not knowing at all what you're getting into. I picked up The Hawk In Paris' debut ep with mostly because it was free and the cover art intrigued me enough to pick this album up. My first listen through I was blown away. A couple hours later when I found out that Dan Haseltine from Jars of Clay was the singer, I was even more shocked.
His + Hers is an ep full of great electronic loves songs with a slight dark undertone in the music. It's a great album and shouldn't be missed.
The Ember Days have been a band that have fallen on my deaf ears. There previous efforts just didn't make any impact on me. So downloading Emergency, I really didn't have any expectations. But right from the start, this record was different, more intriguing. It's not a break away from what is almost standard for the worship genre but the album hits on a deeper level for me.
Unite Your Bride hit me instantly. Not a traditional worship song in a lyrical sense, a calling for God to help put away with the bickering in the church. Make Us One hints at a subtle Slowdive influence. The instrumental section on All Honor is beautiful and pretty incredible. The tracks that feature Jason Belcher's vocals are some of my favorite. I love the bands re-envisioning of How Great Thou Art. The title track is a great instrumental piece. High Above has musical elements on par with Sigur Ros with a melody that is real sweet and beautiful.
Emergency is a great record. And that fact that you can get music this good for free is awesome. The Ember Days have put out one heck of record. And I recommend people head on over to Come and Live and check this out.
It's no secret that since I've discovered Humble Beast Records I've been in love with the label. Christian hip-hop has always been hit or miss, so to find a label, where every release was great and free... It was love at first listen. Braille's new full-length, Native Lung, is no exception.
The album kicks off with the title track, kicking in with a sick West Coast beat that reminds me of some of Dre's best beats. The album's lead single Feel It is a strong driving song. Native Lung is rhyme and beat driven, not hook driven. The songs are all solid head banging tracks. There's nothing cheesy, no gimmicks, no autotune. Rhymes on Everything, The New Raw, Too Many Tomorrows are my favorites on the album.
The album is a solid progression from Weapon Aid. Braille takes all the good from previous efforts and builds and improves on them. If you like quality hip hop this isn't an album to miss.
Braille - Native Lung
7 Angels 7 Plagues - Away with Words
Mars Ill - Sound Off
Dive the Sea - Betrayal
Alert - All I See is Red
Point of Recognition - Refuge and Strength
Propaganda and Odd Thomas - Change This World
Seventh Star - World War Three
Cook and Uno - Always Shine
Born Blind - One for All
Gift of Gab - The Ride of Your Life
Ceasefire - Berlin
Grits - Ima Showem
Falling Cycle - For Nothing
Odd Thomas - Fundamentalist 1
Figure Four - When It's All Said and Done
Brainwash Projects - Want for Nada
No Innocent Victim - Stand
13 songs clocking in at 20 minutes. Yes, punk rock does still exist, even if it's only in Germany. Praiser is an old school hardcore punk band (think Minor Threat) from Germany and they're offering their new record Blessed Be The Punk for free. From their website:
PRAISER is the latest band started by André and Marcus from Hamburg, Germany, who played together in several hardcore groups like “Unreal” and “Preacher” since 1999. Their lyrics focus on Christ but they are also aware of topics like social injustice or political stuff which belongs to punk since its beginnings. As Christians they also find it important to question things, traditions, behavior within church or among Christians in general. Their sound is fierce old school Hardcore Punk with some more influences like metal, crustpunk and rock. Recommended for fans of: Bad Religion, Chain of Strength, Minor Threat, the Crucified, the Blamed, Crashdog
I'm a big fan of this album and you should be too. It even includes a cover of mewithoutYou's Allah Allah Allah.
