Welp, it's a new week and I'm back from vacation. And the music was blaring. 7-8 hours both ways means my CD player got a lot of work. So here's my top 5 of the week.
Top 5 of this week (07/26-08/01):
5.) Two Weeks - All That Remains (Overcome)
4.) Convalescence - Darkest Hour (Undoing Ruin)
3.) Amber - Stick To Your Guns (The Hope Division)
2.) Colibri - Kommisar (Colibri [EP])
1.) Slania's Song - Eluveitie (Slania)
Yeah, last weeks number 2 is the only returning customer this week. Sure you may not understand the lyrics, but just listen to the music, and the amazing contrast of the beautiful singing amidst the harsh growls.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Catching up with everything
Alright, so most of you have probably been wondering why I have all of 2 posts in 2011 (one of which was on January the 2nd). To be honest, reviewing music isn't all that fun to me anymore. Music is supposed to be about losing yourself in the song and enjoying it. I don't like having to actually focus on the music when I usually use it as the backdrop to everything. So from now on, I'm changing my uses for this blog. I will use this mainly to drop lines about what I'm listening to, new stuff I've heard/liked, as well as maybe a few charts.
Might as well kick it off by telling you all about my recent trip to Vancouver.
In the city where I live, there is no music store. There USED to be, but it closed down and will probably come back when our new mall is built, but that's not until 2012/2013. Gravy. Anyway, a year ago when the 2010 Winter Olympics were in Vancouver, my family and I took in the sights and I forayed a little bit ahead and noticed a three-story HMV (the aforementioned brand of music store). I stood for a good minute waiting for my family. My jaw hit the floor. I know, one day, I would visit that store and go absolutely ballistic.
Fast forward to now. I did take that trip with a good friend of mine, and let me say this: I went BALLISTIC.
The Rock/Pop section ALONE was bigger than the ENTIRE HMV we had at our mall. Heaven. I ended up purchasing 1 t-shirt, a poster for my sister, and 12, yes TWELVE, CDs. We later checked out a place called "The Rock Shop". Best place to buy band merch. I got 3 band tees from there (as I write this, I'm wearing one of them).
The CDs:
Alestorm (Pirate Metal):
- Captain Morgan's Revenge (2008)
- Black Sails At Midnight (2009)
- Back In Time (2011)
Darkest Hour (Metalcore):
- Undoing Ruin (2005)
- Deliver Us (2007)
- The Human Romance (2011)
Eluveitie (Folk Metal):
- Slania (2008)
Freedom Call (Power Metal):
- Eternity (2002)
In Flames (Meliodic Death Metal):
- Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011)
Scar Symmetry (Meliodic Death Metal):
- The Unseen Empire (2011)
Silverstein (Post-Hardcore):
- Rescue (2011)
Sonic Syndicate (Meliodic Death Metal):
- Only Inhuman (2007)
A somewhat diverse list. Although each band from the same country share the same genres. (Sweden / Meliodic Death) (Scotland / Pirate) (Canada / Post-Hardcore) (U.S.A. / Metalcore) (Germany / Power Metal) (Switzerland / Folk). A nice little coincidence.
The bands I got shirts of are Coheed & Cambria (wearing), Eluveitie, and DragonForce.
I might post pictures eventually.
Anyway, on to other things. I'll give off two top 5 lists for you guys to have fun with.
Top 5 albums I picked up:
5.) Alestorm - Black Sails At Midnight
4.) Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge
3.) Scar Symmetry - The Unseen Empire
2.) Silverstein - Rescue
1.) Eluveitie - Slania
Tracks to listen to from each (in order):
Keelhauled, Captain Morgan's Revenge, The Anomaly, Medication, Slania's Song.
And the top 5 songs of the week. This is basically going to consist of the songs I've listened to the most in the past week. If I wanted to be extremely nazi about this, I'd reset all of my iTunes plays and check every week, but that's too much work. I'll also post a YouTube link to the number one song.
Top 5 of this week (07/19-07/25):
5.) The Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin (Phobia)
4.) The Anomaly - Scar Symmetry (The Unseen Empire)
3.) Four Friends of the Elements - Hyadain (Final Fantasy IV ReMix from OC ReMix)
2.) Slania's Song - Eluveitie (Slania)
1.) Trust In You - The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace)
Awesome punk rock song. I'm reminded of All I Want off of their '97 album Ixnay On the Hombre. Pure punk headbanging fest, and they don't sound like they've been doing it for 15 years; they sound just like they're on their first album. No sign of aging or slowing down.
Might as well kick it off by telling you all about my recent trip to Vancouver.
In the city where I live, there is no music store. There USED to be, but it closed down and will probably come back when our new mall is built, but that's not until 2012/2013. Gravy. Anyway, a year ago when the 2010 Winter Olympics were in Vancouver, my family and I took in the sights and I forayed a little bit ahead and noticed a three-story HMV (the aforementioned brand of music store). I stood for a good minute waiting for my family. My jaw hit the floor. I know, one day, I would visit that store and go absolutely ballistic.
Fast forward to now. I did take that trip with a good friend of mine, and let me say this: I went BALLISTIC.
The Rock/Pop section ALONE was bigger than the ENTIRE HMV we had at our mall. Heaven. I ended up purchasing 1 t-shirt, a poster for my sister, and 12, yes TWELVE, CDs. We later checked out a place called "The Rock Shop". Best place to buy band merch. I got 3 band tees from there (as I write this, I'm wearing one of them).
The CDs:
Alestorm (Pirate Metal):
- Captain Morgan's Revenge (2008)
- Black Sails At Midnight (2009)
- Back In Time (2011)
Darkest Hour (Metalcore):
- Undoing Ruin (2005)
- Deliver Us (2007)
- The Human Romance (2011)
Eluveitie (Folk Metal):
- Slania (2008)
Freedom Call (Power Metal):
- Eternity (2002)
In Flames (Meliodic Death Metal):
- Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011)
Scar Symmetry (Meliodic Death Metal):
- The Unseen Empire (2011)
Silverstein (Post-Hardcore):
- Rescue (2011)
Sonic Syndicate (Meliodic Death Metal):
- Only Inhuman (2007)
A somewhat diverse list. Although each band from the same country share the same genres. (Sweden / Meliodic Death) (Scotland / Pirate) (Canada / Post-Hardcore) (U.S.A. / Metalcore) (Germany / Power Metal) (Switzerland / Folk). A nice little coincidence.
The bands I got shirts of are Coheed & Cambria (wearing), Eluveitie, and DragonForce.
I might post pictures eventually.
Anyway, on to other things. I'll give off two top 5 lists for you guys to have fun with.
Top 5 albums I picked up:
5.) Alestorm - Black Sails At Midnight
4.) Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge
3.) Scar Symmetry - The Unseen Empire
2.) Silverstein - Rescue
1.) Eluveitie - Slania
Tracks to listen to from each (in order):
Keelhauled, Captain Morgan's Revenge, The Anomaly, Medication, Slania's Song.
And the top 5 songs of the week. This is basically going to consist of the songs I've listened to the most in the past week. If I wanted to be extremely nazi about this, I'd reset all of my iTunes plays and check every week, but that's too much work. I'll also post a YouTube link to the number one song.
Top 5 of this week (07/19-07/25):
5.) The Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin (Phobia)
4.) The Anomaly - Scar Symmetry (The Unseen Empire)
3.) Four Friends of the Elements - Hyadain (Final Fantasy IV ReMix from OC ReMix)
2.) Slania's Song - Eluveitie (Slania)
1.) Trust In You - The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace)
Awesome punk rock song. I'm reminded of All I Want off of their '97 album Ixnay On the Hombre. Pure punk headbanging fest, and they don't sound like they've been doing it for 15 years; they sound just like they're on their first album. No sign of aging or slowing down.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Music We Never Really Think About
When you think about music, where does your mind go? To the song you just heard on the radio? How about the song off of that new album you just bought (or, in this age, downloaded)? What about the music that you hear all the time, but never pay attention to. My post here today is discussing one of the most played genres of music you hear, but never think about:
Game music.
Yes, you read correctly, video game music. And before you scoff at me and say "video game music isn't real music", let me ask you something. What's easier to remember? The melody and lyrics to the newest Lady Gaga tune? Or the original Super Mario Bros. theme song? That new Katy Perry hit, or the Legend of Zelda overworld theme? If you answered Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, then you probably shouldn't even be here; this is not the music review blog for you.
For those of you who's interests are piqued, let me continue. Video game music is a part of games that we really don't think about. Would Mario have been as popular without his 8-bit jingle playing in the background? What about all the tunes that play during the fights in Street Fighter or Smash Bros.? Video game music helps make the game what it is. It sets the tone for a scene, it creates iconic memories; and if you're really dedicated, it has a spot on your music player. And I don't mean just normal tunes. What about remakes and remixes? There are tons of communities out there whose goals are to remix game songs in a way they enjoy and to add a fresh twist. What if Donkey Kong Country was turned into a metal thrashfest? Sonic becoming hyper techno? Anything is possible.
Finally, one other key point to think of is the actual production of the songs. Listening to game music nowadays, one can realize it takes one heck of a lot more work to actually make a song for a game than it is to make a pop song. For one, you need to know the scene and create a piece that fits it just right. Next, you need a vast variety of instruments; some games I play, I can hear drums, strings, horns, possibly guitar - enough instruments to fill an orchestra.
I encourage any readers right now, if interested, please comment. If it's actual games, YouTube is a great place to look up songs, and I can always recommend some. If you're looking for remixes of tunes, or genres, go check out ocremix.org.
Don't just throw video game music under the tires because it's in a game. It's a legitimate form of music, and some of the most beautiful pieces can be found within. All you need to do is listen.
Also, just for the heck of it, I'm throwing in a sample of one of my favourite video game tunes.
- TF3W
Game music.
Yes, you read correctly, video game music. And before you scoff at me and say "video game music isn't real music", let me ask you something. What's easier to remember? The melody and lyrics to the newest Lady Gaga tune? Or the original Super Mario Bros. theme song? That new Katy Perry hit, or the Legend of Zelda overworld theme? If you answered Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, then you probably shouldn't even be here; this is not the music review blog for you.
For those of you who's interests are piqued, let me continue. Video game music is a part of games that we really don't think about. Would Mario have been as popular without his 8-bit jingle playing in the background? What about all the tunes that play during the fights in Street Fighter or Smash Bros.? Video game music helps make the game what it is. It sets the tone for a scene, it creates iconic memories; and if you're really dedicated, it has a spot on your music player. And I don't mean just normal tunes. What about remakes and remixes? There are tons of communities out there whose goals are to remix game songs in a way they enjoy and to add a fresh twist. What if Donkey Kong Country was turned into a metal thrashfest? Sonic becoming hyper techno? Anything is possible.
Finally, one other key point to think of is the actual production of the songs. Listening to game music nowadays, one can realize it takes one heck of a lot more work to actually make a song for a game than it is to make a pop song. For one, you need to know the scene and create a piece that fits it just right. Next, you need a vast variety of instruments; some games I play, I can hear drums, strings, horns, possibly guitar - enough instruments to fill an orchestra.
I encourage any readers right now, if interested, please comment. If it's actual games, YouTube is a great place to look up songs, and I can always recommend some. If you're looking for remixes of tunes, or genres, go check out ocremix.org.
Don't just throw video game music under the tires because it's in a game. It's a legitimate form of music, and some of the most beautiful pieces can be found within. All you need to do is listen.
Also, just for the heck of it, I'm throwing in a sample of one of my favourite video game tunes.
- TF3W
Sunday, January 2, 2011
My top 5 albums of 2010.
Yeah I'm an hour late. Sue me.
As I stated in my previous post, I was going to number off my top albums of 2010. Out of the 9 options, what will take the cake as my best album of 2010?
To be honest, out of the 9 albums, some were disappointing, but there were those that made their mark. So let's begin with the 4 runners-up.
RUNNERS-UP:
All That Remains - For We Are Many: Nothing truly memorable. Especially compared to Overcome. To be honest, when I first listened to it, it just... went by. 40 minutes or so passed and I didn't even realize it because nothing stood out to my ears.
Kamelot - Poetry For the Poisoned: Was a decent album, but there's not a lot of songs that truly stick out, save for one or two. However, this is still the Kamelot I know and thus I have no regrets about this purchase. Still a good album, but not as good as previous releases.
DragonForce - Twilight Dementia: Proves to all that DragonForce really ARE that fast live, but even live is kind of repetitive. And I don't mean the music. ZP Theart loves the fans to "get those hands in the air and go 'ai, ai, ai, ai!'" It gets annoying after a while. Also, this can be seen as the farewell to ZP Theart as he has now left DragonForce.
Disturbed - Asylum: Really nothing memorable. It's Disturbed, yes, but there's no change. I appreciate following the adage of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but you CAN modify it at times. That would be nice for the next album.
-=-
5TH:
Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow: Good album, and different. More heavier, and less progressive than their older albums. It works at times, but falters at others. Does feature an awesome song that really sticks out, and a few more that are good as well. For those who follow the Amory Wars, a good prequel chapter.
-=-
4TH:
In This Moment - A Star-Crossed Wasteland: A solid album, but no real standouts unlike The Dream. However, I have no beefs with anything in the album. It's an enjoyable listen from start to finish and that's always a good thing in music.
-=-
3RD:
Hail the Villain - Population: Declining: Thank you HMV for having this available in your points store. Best 40k points I've ever spent. Anyway, great Canadian band who released their debut with this. Solid hard rock album that has it's thrash fests, it's slower stuff, and a whole lot of headbangable madness in the middle. This could be a solid candidate for my favourite album in my collection, yet here it resides in 3rd for the year.
-=-
2ND:
Silverstein - Decade: The idea behind this was excellent. The execution? Flawless. Silverstein is one of few bands who sound not only as good as the album recordings, if not better, when performing live. This I can attest to as I've seen Silverstein live before, and it was one of the best shows I have ever witnessed. Best live album I've heard and easily one of the better albums of the year.
-=-
1ST:
Eluveitie - Everything Remains (As It Never Was): This is easily the oddest style of music I have heard but, oh dear Lord, does it ever ROCK! Imagine death metal. Now marry it to flutes, violins, and bagpipes. Yes, bagpipes. The sound is like nothing I have ever heard before and listening to this is a new experience. While this could fail easily, this album was an excellent mix of everything. Slower songs, thrash fests, headbanger balls, and beautiful interludes. An enjoyable listen from start to finish and the experience never dies no matter how many times you hear it. Easily the best album of 2010.
Enjoy.
As I stated in my previous post, I was going to number off my top albums of 2010. Out of the 9 options, what will take the cake as my best album of 2010?
To be honest, out of the 9 albums, some were disappointing, but there were those that made their mark. So let's begin with the 4 runners-up.
RUNNERS-UP:
All That Remains - For We Are Many: Nothing truly memorable. Especially compared to Overcome. To be honest, when I first listened to it, it just... went by. 40 minutes or so passed and I didn't even realize it because nothing stood out to my ears.
Kamelot - Poetry For the Poisoned: Was a decent album, but there's not a lot of songs that truly stick out, save for one or two. However, this is still the Kamelot I know and thus I have no regrets about this purchase. Still a good album, but not as good as previous releases.
DragonForce - Twilight Dementia: Proves to all that DragonForce really ARE that fast live, but even live is kind of repetitive. And I don't mean the music. ZP Theart loves the fans to "get those hands in the air and go 'ai, ai, ai, ai!'" It gets annoying after a while. Also, this can be seen as the farewell to ZP Theart as he has now left DragonForce.
Disturbed - Asylum: Really nothing memorable. It's Disturbed, yes, but there's no change. I appreciate following the adage of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but you CAN modify it at times. That would be nice for the next album.
-=-
5TH:
Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow: Good album, and different. More heavier, and less progressive than their older albums. It works at times, but falters at others. Does feature an awesome song that really sticks out, and a few more that are good as well. For those who follow the Amory Wars, a good prequel chapter.
-=-
4TH:
In This Moment - A Star-Crossed Wasteland: A solid album, but no real standouts unlike The Dream. However, I have no beefs with anything in the album. It's an enjoyable listen from start to finish and that's always a good thing in music.
-=-
3RD:
Hail the Villain - Population: Declining: Thank you HMV for having this available in your points store. Best 40k points I've ever spent. Anyway, great Canadian band who released their debut with this. Solid hard rock album that has it's thrash fests, it's slower stuff, and a whole lot of headbangable madness in the middle. This could be a solid candidate for my favourite album in my collection, yet here it resides in 3rd for the year.
-=-
2ND:
Silverstein - Decade: The idea behind this was excellent. The execution? Flawless. Silverstein is one of few bands who sound not only as good as the album recordings, if not better, when performing live. This I can attest to as I've seen Silverstein live before, and it was one of the best shows I have ever witnessed. Best live album I've heard and easily one of the better albums of the year.
-=-
1ST:
Eluveitie - Everything Remains (As It Never Was): This is easily the oddest style of music I have heard but, oh dear Lord, does it ever ROCK! Imagine death metal. Now marry it to flutes, violins, and bagpipes. Yes, bagpipes. The sound is like nothing I have ever heard before and listening to this is a new experience. While this could fail easily, this album was an excellent mix of everything. Slower songs, thrash fests, headbanger balls, and beautiful interludes. An enjoyable listen from start to finish and the experience never dies no matter how many times you hear it. Easily the best album of 2010.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
A check-up
Yeah I know I've been really slow with my blog as of late, but I've been really frackin' busy.
I'm going to try to improve the pace of it (I have my next 5 albums lined up) as well as let everyone know of a special little treat I'll be doing.
I'll be doing a bit of a countdown of my top 5 albums of 2010 on the 1st using the albums I bought that came out in 2010 (there are 9 that I have).
If anyone else has any other ideas for me, feel free to post them.
I'm going to try to improve the pace of it (I have my next 5 albums lined up) as well as let everyone know of a special little treat I'll be doing.
I'll be doing a bit of a countdown of my top 5 albums of 2010 on the 1st using the albums I bought that came out in 2010 (there are 9 that I have).
If anyone else has any other ideas for me, feel free to post them.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Review #7: Silverstein - A Shipwreck In the Sand
Artist: Silverstein
Album: A Shipwreck In the Sand (2009)
Genre: Post-hardcore
Length: 14 tracks / 47:09
I know I've been lazy with this, but work and Christmas shopping has been kicking my rear end. Anyway, here it is; my second Canadian review, and first of the band Silverstein: one of the five bands I own discographies for (at least ones consisting of multiple albums) and one of the few bands I've seen LIVE. Dear God, that was an amazing show. This is also the band's first attempt at a concept album and this was the first CD of their's I bought. On with the review.
This concept album is broken into 4 "chapters" over the course of it's 14 tracks (Ch. 1 = Tracks 1-3, Ch. 2 = 4-7, Ch. 3 = 8-10, Ch. 4 = 11-14), but they all tie in together to form one giant, skewed story of love, loss, anger, retribution, and everything in between. Note how I use skewed. The true storyline of the album is not linear. For example, the first song of the album is not the first event; in fact, I assume it is the climax to the story and chapters 2 and 3 are a flashback or backstory. The 4th chapter is the conclusion to the tale. Now not all the songs are related (some are metaphorical, some are just completely unrelated), but the basic gist of the story is a man who finds his significant other cheating on him with his best friend, and has his heart broken when he realizes she is going to leave him for his friend. After confronting his friend, he decides to take revenge on the cheating woman and their child by setting their house on fire. Realizing how much he loves them, he saves the two girls and is taken into custody after being accused of setting the house on fire. The girlfriend wins custody of the daughter but our "hero" is set free because of a lack of evidence. In a hotel room with the thought of never seeing his loved ones again and a possible prison sentence, he takes his life.
Now I'm just giving the backstory, but really giving no opinion on the album. Silverstein lives by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage and it's seen in this album as there's not too much technical difference from it's previous releases, but the songs and their execution are a major step up from previous releases. The songs themselves are much catchier, and the skills gained from recording 3 previous albums is noticed through riffs rarely heard in their previous releases. The screaming is quite legible which is always a plus to those who always complain that they can't understand the screaming, but there's also lots more actual singing and the singer, Shane Told, is as solid as ever, if not even better than the other albums. To those who don't mind screaming, and songs that aren't happy, rainbow-turd, unicorn-cutesy pa-tootsy about going to a club and having a good time being who you are, then definitely give this album a shot.
Now this is easily my favourite Silverstein album and I got this first, AND after I saw them live in Vancouver during the Warped tour in 2009 right when this was out. It starts off amazingly with a one-two punch and continues to fire out awesome songs that are catchy, headbangable, and most importantly: GOOD! I don't think I need to elaborate on that. That, and the previous section was huge, so this is where I'll end the personal.
TREVOR'S FAVOURITE SONG: A Great Fire
A quiet, slow, intro with piano notes drifting in and out gets kicked into overdrive in the intro song to the album. In the storyline, this is after the protagonist has set fire to his house and has leapt back in to save his fiancée and daughter. Musically, it's a kicking track. Harsh vocals in the verses lead to a beautiful chorus with a basic but still awesome riff tickling one's ears. A haunting bridge leads us back into the kicking and ends off with another couple choruses before connecting to the second track. All together, this is a beautiful song that leads us into the climax of the story and gives of a great tone for the album.
RECOMMENDED SONGS:
A Great Fire [Track 1]
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [Track 4]
A Shipwreck In the Sand [Track 8]
I Am the Arsonist [Track 9]
You're All I Have [Track 10]
A Hero Loses Everyday [Track 12]
Final Grade: 9.1/10 | A-
This is a great album and must buy. Not just buying individual tracks, but the whole record. If this album is not your thing, then why are you still reading this?
Also, just for those curious, the storyline:
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [4]
I Knew I Couldn't Trust You [6]
I Am the Arsonist [9]
A Great Fire [1]
We Are Not the World [11]
A Hero Loses Everyday [12]
The End [14]
Album: A Shipwreck In the Sand (2009)
Genre: Post-hardcore
Length: 14 tracks / 47:09
This concept album is broken into 4 "chapters" over the course of it's 14 tracks (Ch. 1 = Tracks 1-3, Ch. 2 = 4-7, Ch. 3 = 8-10, Ch. 4 = 11-14), but they all tie in together to form one giant, skewed story of love, loss, anger, retribution, and everything in between. Note how I use skewed. The true storyline of the album is not linear. For example, the first song of the album is not the first event; in fact, I assume it is the climax to the story and chapters 2 and 3 are a flashback or backstory. The 4th chapter is the conclusion to the tale. Now not all the songs are related (some are metaphorical, some are just completely unrelated), but the basic gist of the story is a man who finds his significant other cheating on him with his best friend, and has his heart broken when he realizes she is going to leave him for his friend. After confronting his friend, he decides to take revenge on the cheating woman and their child by setting their house on fire. Realizing how much he loves them, he saves the two girls and is taken into custody after being accused of setting the house on fire. The girlfriend wins custody of the daughter but our "hero" is set free because of a lack of evidence. In a hotel room with the thought of never seeing his loved ones again and a possible prison sentence, he takes his life.
Now I'm just giving the backstory, but really giving no opinion on the album. Silverstein lives by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage and it's seen in this album as there's not too much technical difference from it's previous releases, but the songs and their execution are a major step up from previous releases. The songs themselves are much catchier, and the skills gained from recording 3 previous albums is noticed through riffs rarely heard in their previous releases. The screaming is quite legible which is always a plus to those who always complain that they can't understand the screaming, but there's also lots more actual singing and the singer, Shane Told, is as solid as ever, if not even better than the other albums. To those who don't mind screaming, and songs that aren't happy, rainbow-turd, unicorn-cutesy pa-tootsy about going to a club and having a good time being who you are, then definitely give this album a shot.
Now this is easily my favourite Silverstein album and I got this first, AND after I saw them live in Vancouver during the Warped tour in 2009 right when this was out. It starts off amazingly with a one-two punch and continues to fire out awesome songs that are catchy, headbangable, and most importantly: GOOD! I don't think I need to elaborate on that. That, and the previous section was huge, so this is where I'll end the personal.
TREVOR'S FAVOURITE SONG: A Great Fire
A quiet, slow, intro with piano notes drifting in and out gets kicked into overdrive in the intro song to the album. In the storyline, this is after the protagonist has set fire to his house and has leapt back in to save his fiancée and daughter. Musically, it's a kicking track. Harsh vocals in the verses lead to a beautiful chorus with a basic but still awesome riff tickling one's ears. A haunting bridge leads us back into the kicking and ends off with another couple choruses before connecting to the second track. All together, this is a beautiful song that leads us into the climax of the story and gives of a great tone for the album.
RECOMMENDED SONGS:
A Great Fire [Track 1]
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [Track 4]
A Shipwreck In the Sand [Track 8]
I Am the Arsonist [Track 9]
You're All I Have [Track 10]
A Hero Loses Everyday [Track 12]
Final Grade: 9.1/10 | A-
This is a great album and must buy. Not just buying individual tracks, but the whole record. If this album is not your thing, then why are you still reading this?
Also, just for those curious, the storyline:
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [4]
I Knew I Couldn't Trust You [6]
I Am the Arsonist [9]
A Great Fire [1]
We Are Not the World [11]
A Hero Loses Everyday [12]
The End [14]
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Review #6: Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
Artist: Coheed and Cambria
Album: Year of the Black Rainbow (2010)
Genre: Progressive Rock
Length: 12 tracks / 53:53
Okay, you got me. I did hear of Coheed and Cambria through Rock Band. I never said I was perfect. Anyway, Year of the Black Rainbow; the newest album and the prequel of the 5 album concept of the Amory Wars. Coheed's had this concept running through all their albums, but even if you're just a casual listener, they have songs that you can enjoy and not even need to know the backstory and that's what's cool about this particular concept. But I must end the blathering; on with the review.
Now this is a much heavier album than the 4 previous releases. Since they've also had a fair few years to hone their craft, it does sound very well done, but the transition from more prog-like to this is a somewhat tough pill to swallow, but I'll force it down any day. Coheed begins the story with this album, but even I haven't studied them enough to give an analysis, nor breakdown for you readers so I won't even attempt. One mainstay from other C&C albums is the symphonic intro that resides on track 1 of every C&C album I've heard, and from there, the rocking begins. And there are sour spots every so often, but this is an enjoyable album from start until finish and is a solid addition to any rock fan's collection.
In my opinion, there are sour notes to this album, and they last 3-5 minutes long each time they arrive. Although they are rare. And while some songs have abrupt shifts to others -anything surrounding, and including, Pearl of the Stars- it still works in C&C's favour and it produces a good album. I may not have had as many favourites as others, but concept albums are harder to find favourites as it's a story in musical form. And whole some may have chapters that they prefer to read, you still have to read the whole thing to truly appreciate the novel; some idea applies to this.
TREVOR'S FAVOURITE SONG: Here We Are Juggernaut
Song 4. Always a popular choice. The clean-up batter in the line-up. Juggernaut is just one of those songs that screams out once you listen to it. From the wacky intro with distorted screams/guitar riffs, to the ever-so-amazing chorus, this song captivates from the first second to it's unfortunate stop 3 minutes and 44 seconds later. To bring back the book analogy, this is like the chapter with my favourite part and it doesn't stop until it's over. Also, I'd recommend watching the music video: it's a great way to see the idea behind the band logo, and what I assume is the beginning action of the tale of Coheed and his wife, Cambria.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
The Broken [Track 2]
Here We Are Juggernaut [Track 4]
World of Lines [Track 6]
When Skeletons Live [Track 11]
*Borderline recommendation(s)*
Made Out of Nothing (All That I Am) [Track 8]
In the Flame of Error [Track 10]
Final Grade: 8.4/10 | B
This is a good album, and there's a fair amount of good songs, but getting the full thing depends on how into concept albums you are. If you like hearing the full story, go for it. If not, try it out.
Album: Year of the Black Rainbow (2010)
Genre: Progressive Rock
Length: 12 tracks / 53:53
Now this is a much heavier album than the 4 previous releases. Since they've also had a fair few years to hone their craft, it does sound very well done, but the transition from more prog-like to this is a somewhat tough pill to swallow, but I'll force it down any day. Coheed begins the story with this album, but even I haven't studied them enough to give an analysis, nor breakdown for you readers so I won't even attempt. One mainstay from other C&C albums is the symphonic intro that resides on track 1 of every C&C album I've heard, and from there, the rocking begins. And there are sour spots every so often, but this is an enjoyable album from start until finish and is a solid addition to any rock fan's collection.
In my opinion, there are sour notes to this album, and they last 3-5 minutes long each time they arrive. Although they are rare. And while some songs have abrupt shifts to others -anything surrounding, and including, Pearl of the Stars- it still works in C&C's favour and it produces a good album. I may not have had as many favourites as others, but concept albums are harder to find favourites as it's a story in musical form. And whole some may have chapters that they prefer to read, you still have to read the whole thing to truly appreciate the novel; some idea applies to this.
TREVOR'S FAVOURITE SONG: Here We Are Juggernaut
Song 4. Always a popular choice. The clean-up batter in the line-up. Juggernaut is just one of those songs that screams out once you listen to it. From the wacky intro with distorted screams/guitar riffs, to the ever-so-amazing chorus, this song captivates from the first second to it's unfortunate stop 3 minutes and 44 seconds later. To bring back the book analogy, this is like the chapter with my favourite part and it doesn't stop until it's over. Also, I'd recommend watching the music video: it's a great way to see the idea behind the band logo, and what I assume is the beginning action of the tale of Coheed and his wife, Cambria.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
The Broken [Track 2]
Here We Are Juggernaut [Track 4]
World of Lines [Track 6]
When Skeletons Live [Track 11]
*Borderline recommendation(s)*
Made Out of Nothing (All That I Am) [Track 8]
In the Flame of Error [Track 10]
Final Grade: 8.4/10 | B
This is a good album, and there's a fair amount of good songs, but getting the full thing depends on how into concept albums you are. If you like hearing the full story, go for it. If not, try it out.
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