Update

We will be taking a break until November 2, 2010. Midterms. And halloween.

Crake the Skye – Mastadon

Why I Chose It

It's one of those albums I think I'm suppose to know....

Live Blog

Oblivion - Slow start, changed to a weird faster riff. Palm muting galore. Haven't heard that in a while. His voice sounds like Godsmack's. WTF a guitar solo? haven't heard one of those for a while. it's good too. 

Divinations - wow, the guitar intro is pretty sick. and I like this drumming. weird distorted riff at 2:19ish is cool. I like this solo coming on too.

Quintessence - the lyrics aren't too intricate or anything, but I like them. They have a cool brevity to them. The drumming highlights key parts in the song. I like the cowbell. I like the breakdown around 4:45. It's well disguised too.

The Czar - This 10 minutes better be awesome. I believe it can be, for Between the Buried and Me do that all the time. Slow burner, like the piano at the end. Good song. Didn't get boring.

Ghost of Karelia - It's not boring. It's just not remarkable, at least on first listen. Though I think somewhere I read, "It's a grower and not a shower". 

Crack the Skye - vocals are different here. weird vocal effects around 3:54. I like them. 

The Last Baron - 13 minute epic, here we go. Starts slower. picks up at 4 minutes. Cool guitar riff at 7:00. "I guess they would say that we could set this world ablaze". 9:27 has a acoustic guitar harmonize with the guitars. I like it. The solo at 11:27 is also pretty cool. It seems to pick up energy for the big finish.

Write Up

Um, it was good. It was sludge metal. I liked it. The guitars were pretty impressive. And the drumming is superb. It's just....not all the impressive to me. I'm sure the lyrics are good. And I'm sure if I listened more, I would like more stuff.

I just...was sorta bored through the whole thing. 

Would I Listen Again?

Probably not.

New Junk Aesthetic – Every Time I Die

Why I Chose It

Elias really likes this band. And I like this music taste.

Song Impressions

Roman Holiday -Has a pretty cool riff for the whole song. The vocals are interesting.

The Marvelous Slut - Here it goes. It's much faster now and I like the guitar work here. "Why do I give myself away?". short song.

Who Invented The Russian Soldier - More fast, southern sounding hardcore. 

Wanderlust - cool riff at the beginning. different vocals here. I like his changing from singing to yelling.

For The Record - "God knows I've longed to feel something but now's not the time." Pretty good song.

White Smoke - The guitars sound similar to what they have sounded like this whole time. It's good, don't get my wrong, but it's very hard to pick things out of the noise. really chugs at the end. like it.

Turtles All The Way Down - I really like the name for this song. Cool riffing at the beginning. 

Organ Grinder - "All the world's a cage, and we are just animals". I like the way that is sung. Cool background singing. cool breakdown at 3:23.

Host Disorder - cool screams at :59. He sounds like He Is Legend here in song. Not a problem, by any means.

One Quarter Of A Revelation - It's getting back to fast, short songs with intense guitar work. Like the drumming. I can feel the passion from his vocals. I like the breakdown at the end of the song.

The Sweet Life - "Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, ain't nothing gonna slow me down". I like this song

Buffalo 666 - good song. can't tell you anything unique about it.

Goddamn Kids These Days - Ending doesn't let up. More fast, furious southern metal. Good ending.

Write Up

I like He Is Legend. I am listening to another one of their CDs for this project, but I really dig their CD "I Am Hollywood". I also really dig Memphis May Fire, so I think it's fair to say I like southern-ish sounding metal. And this is no different. This CD is fast, loud, angry and most importantly, consistent. It's good the whole way through. Now, they don't really try to reinvent to wheel or the breakdown here or anything, so I can't say that anything really STANDS out. But, I can tell you that if you listen to this CD, and you like this kind of music, you'll not be disappointed.

Probably the most distinguishing feature of the band is Keith Buckley's voice. It's not the same traditional  scream that you would here from other metalcore bands. It's a throaty yell (different than Architects) and it serves the music perfectly. The second best part of the band are the guitars. They do follow a pretty predictable riff pattern, but they meld very nicely with Buckley's voice. Buckely also has the ability to sing rather well, and he uses it to good effect. 

Would I Listen Again?

Yes. It's a very solid album.

Party for the Grown and Sexy – You, Me and Everyone We Know

Live Blog

Livin' th' Dream - wow this is poppy pop punk. Say Anything type pop punk. I love it. Great opening song.

I'd Be More Interested If You Were Already Spoken For - More poppy emo pop punk. Reminds of All Time Low and Say Anything together almost. I think All Time Low is better though. But this is pretty good. "Cross yyyyooooour fingerssssss and hope he doesn't wait up for you"

Do it Again! You're Not Making Me Want to Touch You! - "They're shouting "have another!" ". His voice here sounds like Panic and the Disco. I love it. "Shut Up and Dance!!". Great faux-solo. More happy/ angsty lyrics. perfect. 

The Press War - His voice here almost sounds like old Fall Out Boy too. Idk, it's like a mash up of all the good parts of pop punk. "there's just one thing he'll forget to mention/ they're taking sides as you find your ride / dry your tears, at least you'll leave with your pride"

Dirty Laundry - Ok, these lyrics aren't that different from Circa Survive's. But god damn,  its so much better. The instruments are not as good, but the songs are better. Because I believe this guy. I know he is honest and really feeling what he sings. "Things are gonna be different now you see/ And add to all this dirty laundry you left me"

...Because I Spit Hot Fire - The screams half way through sound like Brand New. Probably the worst song here, but it's still not too bad.

The Rent is Due - Nice guitar riff at the beginning. His voice is great too.
One of the best choruses of the CD: "So make it a point tosay you miss me / and tell all of your friends / of the boy from which your accent comes / oh wont you hold it, against me / for knowing the words/ what you say to make your heartbeat stop". And the double bass hits during it. Oh man. pop punk heaven. Then the guitar solo build up around 2:30. Then the gang vocals during the chorus at the end. Oh GOD!

Carolina Heat - Jesus I love this song. The generic slow song at the end of the song, but it's done soo well. And then it builds up perfectly. This song is sad. and emo.

You just convinced me to write this

 it's for the greater good 

cos i'd rather be great than good

they say the carolina heat

isnt something that keeping a cool head can beat

but don't discount their winter winds

and all the cold shoulders that the slightest draft lets in

but with empty stomachs and hungry eyes 

our only choice was to swallow pride

but i guess you just ate better than the rest

Man I love this song.

Write Up

Wow. Just wow. Sometimes pop punk just really surprises me. I didn't know that I could really be impressed anymore by anyone since I already have Fall Out Boy, Reliant k and blink 182. Yet in the past year, I've picked up so many amazing pop punk acts: Four Year Strong, All Time Low, The Wonder Years, and Motion City Soundtrack. And now, I've found another. YMAEWK has taken their own spin on pop punk and even though it's not too different from everyone else's take on it, they manage to nail it. They're lyrics have a certain cleverness too them, making them fun and different, but still easy to figure out. They're instrumentation is varied enough but it's not really the highlight of the album. 

And Carolina Heat is just a fantastic song. Really is.

Would I Listen Again?

DUH

Juturna- Circa Survive

Why I Chose It

Cause my roommate Even really likes them. And Kearny did too. Another one of those CDs I'm suppose to like. Or at least know.

Live Blog

Holding Someone's Hair Back - Anthony Green's voice is the best part of this band. Just like Jonny Craig is of Emarosa. But Green's lyrics are certainly better than Craig's. Not to say that I like them more though. They all have this odd, 3rd person perspective to them. Not like he's singing to someone, rather about them in a narrator's/ storyteller's point of view. I'm not sure I like it. 

Act Appalled - I don't know. It sounded like more Circa Survive.

Wish Resign - The guitars create a very tense atmosphere. They have some pretty cool riffs but they're hard to pick out sometimes. They're too buried in noise. Green's voice sounds nice, sure. But it doesn't sound like it has passion. 

The Glorious Nosebleed - 1:47 has a nice calm part. 

In Fear and Faith - It's good. But it just lacks energy. I'm also distracted right now. This is kinda boring. Maybe if I stopped and listened I'd like it. But isn't music suppose to hook me in?

The Great Golden Baby - It's good. 

Stop The Fuckin' Car - I know this song. "this operation's been abandoned once again" is sung in an annoying way? I think I can't quite put my finger on it but I don't like it. The guitar's are good enough. I think I need more time listening to really pick out good parts?

We're All Thieves - It's got a nice breakdown in the middle. The drums sound like jazz actually. A very light, etheral atmosphere. Green's voice sorta interwinds with the music.

Oh, Hello - Best guitar riff on the CD. Really good and energetic. This song has the most heart behind it of any on the CD. 

Always Getting What You Want - Another slower pace song. Not bad, but nothing special

Meet Me in Montauk - I found out this song is a reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, so I sorta automatically like it. It's just the generic slow song at the end of the song but it ends on a weird note.

Write Up

I never agreed to be kind to every CD I listen to during these 30 days. I just wanted to broaden my musical horizons and that's what I'm doing. I'm finding out that Circa Survive, is only ok. In no way do I think they are bad. They're not. They're just....generic. And boring. Anthony Green may have a nice voice, but I don't hear him use it to great effect. Jonny Craig's "Tailored Sheets!!!" at the very beginning of his first CD with Emarosa has more heart, passion and energy than anything found on this CD. It sounds like Green is sorta indifferent to what he's singing about. The guitars are good, but they don't really make up for his lack of passion. The best riff on the CD is at the beginning of "Oh, Hello".

Overall, a competent CD. I'm sure if I listened more I'd pick up on the subtitles on the guitar work and the drumming and Anthony's signing. But for now, upon first listen, I am not impressed.

Would I Listen Again?

I'd have to if I wanted to like it.

Doppleganger – The Fall of Troy

Why I Chose It

Damn it. I wrote a whole thing out about this and yet somehow, it all just deleted. Luckily, it saved my live blog portion of it, but I don't want to write a whole thing again. I don't care about this that much. So let me say this: 

I picked it cause I liked them in guitar hero3. And Michael Kearny likes it.

Live Blog

I Just Got This Symphony Going - The intro is some pretty weird guitar. I like the screaming. But his clean vocals are just accompanied by such weird discordant chords. "SCREAM OUT MY NAME!!". I like the lyrics too. They rhyme. And they're just well crafted. Cool breakdown with 15 seconds left.

Act One, Scene One - I always like references to theater. I like his vocals more than I thought I would. I like the breakdown/ guitar solo about halfway through. The lyrics are pretty violent sounding though. I like the chill breakdown too. Makes it feel almost like prog rock.

F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. - Great fucking song. I'm familiar with this one already and I know its really good. The guitar in the beginning is really cool. Then the scream after they sing "I don't wanna see the day" of "Come Running Home!" is great. I also really like the way he screams "rewind and rewind and rewind". The solo is also very good.

Mouths like Sindwinder Missiles - I like the opening screams. The guitar effect at 2:08 ish. really cool. I like the lyrics of this one too. More of being upset with someone. But it's done well. The solo at the end is pretty neat too. 

The Hol[]y Tape - I don't know. It's pretty good. More great soloing. I like the breakdown thing at the end too. Good screams. The calm part at the end is pretty nice too. 

Laces Out, Dan! - I like the guitar squeal at the beginning. I also like the way he screams, "Wash your hands of me!/ I don't care anymore!!!/ You wanna play these games!?/ I wanna wipe/That smile off of your face!!".

We Better Learn To Hotwire a Uterus - OK, what? What is this title? I like the guitar riff change in the middle of the song.

Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man’s Bones - cool riff at about 2:26. Ends with a really cool instrumental part before ending it with some screaming. Good song.

Tom Waits - an intense song. Shorter and with more aggression. 

Macaulay McCulkin - The long ending song. Good instrumentation. The way it breaks down in the middle is pretty cool as well. 6:00 in, it changes and gets pretty good. Not that it wasn't good before, but it's good now too.

Write Up

Read the top. I deleted my write up by accident and I'm too lazy to write it again. So I'll be brief.

It was good. His voice carries the band, but the band is no slouch. They all play their instruments well, even though there are only 3 of them. The breakdowns give the feeling of prog rock and the normal section feel of hardcore. 

Overall, worth a listen. 

Would I Listen Again?

Eventually

The Fire- Senses Fail

Why I Chose It

Cause Senses Fail is one of my overall favorite bands ever. And this was coming out. And I got it early. I'm really really hoping Buddy Nielsen works his beautiful, emo magic again.

Live Blog

The Fire - "It's okay to feel lost, it just means you're alive". Sang so catchily. The guitars swirl again. Buddy's voice relies a lot more on a...manly side of him. It's not as whiny, cause he's grown up too. But he can still scream. "I just want to feel alive".

Saint Anthony - Sounds like Still Searching "Streets". But it's still good. "But now all I see is the face between the moonlight waxing". I like the guitars in this song. I love their use of gang vocals too. No screams in this one. Sorta a happier song, but it's still sad.

New Years Eve - No screaming in the last song? It begins this one. We can almost tell Buddy is getting really into hardcore music here. Gang screams? Is that even a thing? Please...no. I like the solo in this one. 

Safe House - More, sad, resigned emo music. You get the feeling of worthlessness. 

Coward - Starts with some pretty tortured scream of "I blame myself". He has a regular delivery, then he pauses and, off tempo, says "you fucking coward!". It's pretty cool. I like the songs with heavier screaming like this one. 

Landslide - "I need to start living because my life is passing by". Man I can relate. "New Jersey has become the new Atlantis, spawning new romantics". Is that good or not, I can't tell. This is a slower one.

Heading West - Faster one, but this one sounds more resolved. Sounds like he wants to take control of his life and fix it. "If you can't change yourself, change your scenery". 

Lifeboats - This is the intense song. Buddy would make a good hardcore singer. Probably the best song so far. "What do you do when you've got nothing left? Give up give up! and hope for the best". "What the point of life if all I want is out?"

Nero - Clean singing. I don't know the lyrics, so I can't really remark on what he's saying...but it's sounding a lot like the cleaner parts of the rest of the album. I mean, I like it. It's just...really similar. 

Irish Eyes - I like the guitars at the beginning. I also like the chorus. "I have to lose it all, if I wanna be free". "I can't lose something I never had". 

Hold On - Feels like an ending song. "Am I just lightning lacking thunder?". "I've got to let this go."" I take a final breath, breathe it in my lungs, because everything I've done has made my numb". 

Write Up

So, I never have liked Senses Fail's CDs as they come out. They need to grow on me. I didn't like Still Searching that much when it came out, but now I think it's amazing. Life is not a Waiting Room was nonsense to me until after I broke up with my girlfriend. Something in my life needs to happen for me to really attach to it. All the songs on this CD are about 3 minutes long. Buddy was never really about musically complex things, so this really isn't that big a deal. Just, maybe some variety. It seems to me they are really feeling losing Heath, their old guitarist. In Still Searching, the guitars are one of my favorite parts. 

This CD is, competent, upon first listen. But Senses Fail hasn't steered me wrong in the past. So I'll listen again. and again. and again.

Would I listen again?

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