You know what? This album really has a lot of good things going on, though I recoiled in vehemence the minute I heard the first track, “Forever”. Last thing we need is another pop punk quazi-metalcore band like AFI, Atreyu or Avenged Sevenfold. Right? Well…don’t flame me for saying I like it. A lot.
This is a very safe album. Nothing is surprising at all, but that’s not really a bad thing. In fact, they do this style very well and with enough conviction to keep me interested. Vocalist Maria Brink didn’t click for me at first, but after a bit into the album I began to like her voice quite a bit. She’s very expressive and shows a fair amount of versitility. Slow ballads like “Into The Light” show tenderness, while ther other times she grows some balls (so to speak) and belts it out like in “The Great Divide”, which includes some pretty nasty screams, also. Guitarists Chris Howorth and Blake Bunzel aren’t slouches, either. Not only technicaly speaking, but their interweaving parts show good taste as well. Bassist Jesse Laundry and drummer Jeff Fabb provide a rock solid foundation, but also find time to shine.
So the album as a whole? Surprisingly well rounded. None of the tracks completely fall into a common formula. Tracks like “Forever”, “Standing In The Rain”, “You Always Believed” and “Violet Skies” do sound pretty similar, especially in the choruses, but they’re catchy as hell so I don’t even care and there are plenty of tracks to offset them. “Her Kiss” and “The Great Divide” boast a good amount of grit, but still manage some epic, wind-in-the-hair choruses. “Lost At Sea” and “Into The Light” reveal a softer side, which if anything manages to add much appreciated variety. Last but not least, “The Dream” concludes the album with a bit of a surprise. I am not lying when I say this song sounds A LOT like Devin Townsend. Think his more chill moments like “Sunday Afternoon” or “Tiny Tears”.
All in all, this album is pretty damn good. A lot better than I would have expected, given my preconceptions of this genre. I’m not going to tell every hardened metal head to check this out, but if you can appreciate some well done and catchy music, then give this a listen. You might be as surprised as I was.
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“…pop punk quaSi-metalcore band like AFI”
Come on. There’s no metalcore in AFI’s sound at all, and their never has been, throughout the history their 6+ album career.
on Nov 22nd, 2008 at 10:42thank you, Rev.
on Nov 22nd, 2008 at 13:11Sorry, there should have been and “or” between the two genres (attributing “quazi-metalcore” to Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold). Apologies for any mislabeling, this isn’t exactly my turf.
on Nov 22nd, 2008 at 14:43