Here is the next segment of short reviews, which will be just albums as I haven't had a lot of time to see many movies lately!
"This Could Be Heartbreak" by The Amity Affliction
Rating: 2/5 Stars
I just want to get this one out of the way. Man was Amity Affliction's new release disappointing. After really enjoying "Let the Ocean Take Me", I was excited to see how this new album could potentially evolve their sound. And the album starts off fairly strong. "I Bring The Weather With Me" might be my favorite Amity song to date. Musically, it is different from anything that the band has done, with some guitar and drum work that really shines, a guitar solo that is just awesome, and the usage of a choir that works even better than it did on "Pittsburgh". The lyrics are also pretty compelling in the band asking what kind of impact they'll have on people when they die, with clean vocalist Ahren Stringer asking "Will you miss me when I'm gone?" with some sincere passion in his voice. This song might be both his and unclean vocalist Joel Birch's best vocal performances to date. The title track, while standard Amity fare, keeps the momentum going as an incredibly catchy breakup song where the whole band is having a lot of fun and sounding really tight musically. Unfortunately, this is the last song for a long time that leaves any impact; the album takes a steady dive into dull and eventually really bad content. Songs such as "Nightmare", "Tearing Me Apart", "Note to Self", and "Wishbone" are put together fine, but they are nothing special. All of them just feel the exact same, with the clean and unclean vocals shifting so predictably. They did nothing emotionally for me and just left me bored. Sadly Ahren and Joel's vocals even can't save most of the songs on here, as they sound pretty passionless with the topics of depression and loneliness they're addressing- maybe it's because they've done this so many times and need to try something new for once. "All F***ed Up" tries to tackle depression and uncontrollable panic, but the lyrics simply do not do justice to this very serious topic; in fact unlike "Let the Ocean Take Me", this song offers no light at the end of the tunnel and instead just stays deep in its murky, depressing tone throughout. This is a problem persisting throughout the whole album, but this song is the biggest shining example of it. "O.M.G.I.M.Y" is undoubtedly this band's worst song to date. I knew from seeing the cringe-worthy text message styled title ("FML" had a stupid title like this too, but the good lyrics and song structure saved it) that this song would be bad. It's torture to hear two talented vocalists reduced to whining idiots who sing about how they miss this girl they broke up with. The song is purely bad through and through; I don't want to listen to it ever again. The only other song that lifts this album up a little bit is the closing track "Blood in My Mouth", which does truly feel epic and actually has decent lyrics that break from the otherwise generic lyrical formula present on almost every other track on this album. But otherwise, this album is a huge disappointment from a really talented band. They took few risks here and instead attempted to make a clone of "Let the Ocean Take Me", which was a bad move. I'm hoping they do better on their next album.
Favorite Songs: "I Bring the Weather With Me", "Blood in My Mouth", "This Could Be Heartbreak"
Least Favorite Songs: "O.M.G.I.M.Y", "All F***ed Up", "Wishbone", "Note to Self", "Nightmare", "Some Friends"
"Treehouse" by I See Stars
Rating: 4/5 Stars
With the departure of unclean vocalist Zach Johnson, I was uncertain of where I See Stars would take their sound after a pretty good album in "New Demons". This band have certainly proven that they are still fine even without their clean vocalist as they have released what is probably their strongest release to date in "Treehouse". I was really surprised by this album in a good way (unlike Amity's album). Here we have a lot more clean vocals with the unclean taking effective control when the intensity is needed. The electronic elements feel even more present than before, creating an album with a very chill and oftentimes atmospheric feel. "Calm Snow" immediately establishes that atmosphere in a very cool way. The ambience is just awesome in this song, as is the continuing epic build of the song; it's really a great intro. "White Lies" is easily my favorite song on the album, sung with entirely clean vocals, and sounding beautiful, with Devin Oliver's vocals sounding better than ever. I usually don't put songs about breakups as my favorite, but with admittedly clever lyrics like "Said you'd be there to the bitter end/Your voice feels bitter now", it's hard to dislike this song. "Everyone is Safe in the Treehouse" stands out as another highlight, with a super catchy chorus and some shouted vocals (not necessarily screams) that hint at intensity. This intensity that has been hinted at more and more with each track is finally delivered in full force with the second best track on this record "Running With Scissors". This track is pitch perfect, using a superb guitar riff combined with electronic elements that really stick. The theme about trying to run from past demons is something most anyone will connect with. While I was a little hesitant on "Mobbin' Out" at first, it has grown on me, and the breakdown it has is pretty awesome. "Portals" reminds of old I See Stars and will definitely be a fan favorite. "Yellow King" ends things off on a subdued note that leaves you ready for more. There are a few weak points in this album, however. "Walking on Gravestones" was not a very interesting instrumental, and it just goes on for too long. "Light in the Cave" is nothing special, feeling like a generic metal song with not much interesting going on. And while I respect I See Stars for taking risks on "All In", it still is a bit of a weak track and feels like it doesn't belong with the atmospheric traits of the rest of the tracks on here. Overall though, this album is just awesome and a lot of fun to listen to. It's definitely one of the best metal albums of the year so far!
Favorite Songs: "White Lies", "Running With Scissors", "Everyone is Safe in the Treehouse", "Calm Snow", "Yellow King", "Mobbin' Out"
Least Favorite Songs: "Walking on Gravestones", "All In", "Light in the Cave"
"Desolate Divine" by The Color Morale
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
The Color Morale is one of my top 20 bands and undoubtedly my favorite band off of Fearless records, so I was definitely excited for this record. Their last album "Hold On, Pain Ends" was enjoyable at first, but it did not have a good replay factor, and the album definitely didn't hold up compared to some of their other releases, with the only impactful hits being "Suicide; Stigma", "Developing Negative", and "Outer Demons". Thankfully, this band's newest release, "Desolate Divine" delivers very good stuff, having Color Morale going back to their roots with the deeper guttural screaming and minimizing on the higher rap/screams done by lead vocalist Garrett Rapp. I'm not saying his style of screams is bad, but they only really worked on "Know Hope". This album does a great job at embracing both the old and new sound of this band. There is no better representation of this than in the first and my personal favorite song off the album, "Lonesome Soul". This song instantly captured my attention with its hard rock guitar riff, and Garrett's clean vocals sounding better than ever. The song tugs at the heartstrings with lyrics like "This is the end of what we used to know/I'm breathing just fine, but am I alive?/I'm living safe as a lonesome soul". The first single "Walls" was what got me interested in this album, and the song is still a highlight, having the catchiest chorus on the album as well as talking about a compelling theme of shutting yourself off from the world. The trading of clean and unclean vocals in the chorus is effective in making this an intense song. There are several other great songs here, such as "Version of Me", which feels like it could be right at home on "Know Hope". "Clip Paper Wings" is a touching song about how imperfections can make perfection in their own way; the mood of this song is made even better by the beautiful string arrangement. "Broken Vessels" works very well as a more pop rock styled song; Color Morale took a risk with this song and it ends up paying off. The album has a pretty solid closing with the highlights "Fauxtographic Memory" and "Keep Me in My Body", both having an epic feel in their own way. There are some shortcomings in this album, however. "Trail of Blood" felt like something typical from the band and didn't bring anything new to the table. "Home Bittersweet Home" and "Misery Hates Company" are a little cheesy in lyrical content and don't have much musical variation. "Perfect Strangers" is an admissible ballad but doesn't pack the punch that "Fill;Avoid" has. Overall, "Desolate Divine" is a return to form for the boys of Color Morale and a great metal/rock album in general. This one will get repeat lessons for sure.
Favorite Songs: "Lonesome Soul", "Fauxtographic Memory", "Walls", "Broken Vessel", "Version of Me"
Least Favorite Songs: "Trail of Blood", "Home Bittersweet Home", "Misery Hates Company
"Bad Omens" by Bad Omens
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
I got interested in this group when I heard the song "The Fountain". I could tell they drew a lot of influences from Bring Me the Horizon, but they were also able to make a pretty unique sound. I saw that Bad Omens had potential. Unfortunately, their debut is not the album to entirely prove this potential. Not that every song is bad; there is definitely some good stuff on here. Interestingly enough, the good stuff comes whenever the group is going as hard hitting as they can or as soft as they can. "Feral" is a real standout track, as it uses some interesting electronic elements and lead vocalist Nicholas Ryan sounds appropriately menacing. "Malice" and "Hedonist" are both absolutely insane songs with some great guitar and drum work as well as some great guttural screams (though "Malice" works better than "Hedonist"). I felt the intensity on both of these songs; they just really worked. "Crawl" is the softest song on the album, and is my personal favorite. It stands in stark contrast to the rest of the album, as it is entirely quiet and Ryan's vocals sound smooth and beautiful here. There is a depressing tone in the song that matches the lyrics, and it definitely made me feel the sadness Bad Omens were wanting me to feel. And of course, "The Fountain" is a great way to end off the album, with a very epic sound as well as the return of the electronic elements. There is definitely some good stuff on here, but many other songs suffer, as they both musically and lyrically can be a bit cliched, and bring BMTH constantly to mind. "Reprise (Sound of the End)" is the prime example of this, reminding WAY too much of "Shadow Moses". This makes the song sound bland and uncomfortably plagiarizing. "Enough, Enough Now" tries to exude emotion by having a slow backing sound paired with Ryan's screams, but it does not work. It feels manipulative and forced. "Glass Houses", "Exit Wounds", and "The Worst in Me" all have that BMTH familiarity to them, and they are all three pretty boring songs in general, all having similar structures. They start the album off on a bad note. "The Letdown" is an the only other song on here I felt had potential as it felt more original, and I could see Bad Omens using the style of this song and perfecting it in the future. But for now, I just hope to see Bad Omens stop so clearly riding the coattails of other bands and make their own sound. Right now, with maybe the exception of "The Letdown", there aren't any indications of real originality, and that weighs this album down significantly.
Favorite Songs: "Crawl", "The Fountain", "Feral", "The Letdown", "Malice"
Least Favorite Songs: "Reprise (Sound of the End"), "Enough, Enough Now", "Glass Houses", "Exit Wounds", "The Worst in Me", "Broken Youth"
No comments:
Post a Comment