Inhale/Exhale – ‘I Swear…’
Solid State Records
Released June 10, 2008
Am I supposed to understand what that artwork means? Does it say something I’m just too dumb to notice? Is it some kind of tribute to 80’s new wave? I DON’T UNDERSTAND!! AHH! Alrighty so I have the first record by this band, but I only bought it because I needed a third Solid State cd to qualify for a Best Buy online offer at the time and I ended up not really caring much about it at all. As I’ve talked about SO many times, it was just another metal/scene band doing the same old thing I’ve heard done better a million times over. My buddy fool of gold insists it’s metal as balls, but I just don’t hear it. So fast foward to present day and their new cd, ‘I Swear…’ (by the moon and the stars in the skyyyy, i’ll be there) and I was really expecting more of the same. And I was right..sort of. Obviously it’s still nothing original, but oddly enough, it’s a lot more rocking and interesting to my ears. It sounds as if they’re trying to actually evolve a little bit, albeit into some kind of August Burns Red (without the breakdowns)/36 Crazyfists/Cave In/20 other band monster, but evolution is evolution I suppose. I even hear traces of bands from days gone by, i.e. Korn and Papa Roach, in there too. Awesome. In all honesty, this is a much more enjoyable listen than I expected it to be, and anytime my low expectations can be exceeded, I feel that it’s a positive thing for both the band and myself. If you’re into ABR or 36CF or anything on Solid State , this is tailor made for you. Chances are I’ll be keeping it on my ipod, and that’s a bit more than I can say for a few of the cds I’m about to school you on.
Bear Approval Rating: 3.4/5
(i need little bear pictures to use for this from now on..someone get on that)
Alestorm – ‘Captain Morgan’s Revenge’
Napalm/SPV
Released Jan 29, 2008
Oh my, oh my, oh my. Imagine my excitement when I came across this gem this past weekend. Four Scottish dudes who have taken the idea of power metal concept stuff past the usual Viking nonsense of a slew of Euro bands and into the uncharted waters of…PIRATE METAL! As you might expect, the songs are all about sailing the seven seas, drinking mead and ale, walking the plank, finding treasure, hooking up with wenches, and all the other cool shit pirates get to do. The dude even sing in an ‘ARRR’ kinda pirate voice and they have all these other pirate instruments happening too. It’s really something special to behold. Granted, once the novelty wares off, the cd is really pretty crappy. But whatever..PIRATES!!
2/5
Misery Signals – ‘Controller’
Ferret Music
Released July 22, 2008
There’s something kinda cool about that artwork. But yea, so Misery Signals. There’s an ad for this cd that says: “For fans of Thrice, Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah, and Tool”. Um ok, whatever you say Ferret. This band is a tough nut for me to crack, I can’t really decide if I enjoy them or I hate them. It’s been that way since their first record for me, and I guess that’s a good thing..at least I don’t have total disgust for them, right? To me, this doesn’t really sound any different from their other stuff, but I’m just a casual observer and a hardcore Miserite might tell you differently. I kinda like the music, they go in some interesting directions with it, but it’s hard to digest it with the vocals being what they are. And what they are is deeply screamed and heavily processed practically the entire time..so that takes some getting used to..but it does help them stand out a little bit. The record has it’s moments where it’s pretty damn heavy though and it has a few neat little breakdowns so that’s always a good way to win me over a little bit. I’ve liked ‘Controller’ a smidge more with each attempt i’ve made to listen, which is good for the band, because I was initially planning on trashing this record. If you’re into Tool, Thrice, Meshuggah, or KSE, give it a listen.
2.5/5
The Famine – ‘The Raven and The Reaping’
Solid State
Released May 27, 2008
This band is made up of a bunch of dudes that were in a band I never really cared for when they played metal called Embodyment and they sorta sound like Living Sacrifice, who I also never really care much about. But yet there’s also a hint of Dimebaggy Pantera riffing going on, and that’s something I can support. But I don’t like this cd. My biggest musical turn-off is a shitty production job, and that’s kinda all I hear when I listen to this cd. Turn down the treble, douches..and dirty things up a bit. It sounds too clean. Not like a good Adam D. production job clean either, it’s like using a brillo pad on a stainless steel pot clean. I’m also annoyed that there aren’t really ANY tempo changes to speak of. Every song is kinda the same thing for 3-5 minutes, and that gets so incredibly old so incredibly fast. Don’t waste your time.
1/5
Knights Of The Abyss – ‘Shade’
Ferret Records
Released June 24, 2008
They sound like any combination of bands like Black Dahlia Murder, Agony Scene, As Blood Runs Black, etcetcetcetcetc. It’s that fast metal with the mid-range screamy vocals that’s fairly typical of bands in this genre. I’ve only listened a few times, but there’s not all that much memorable here. Next!!
1.5/5
I Wrestled A Bear Once – s/t
2007/2008?
Yea I don’t really know anything about this band, aside from their badass tshirt design above and their awesome name and the fact that I downloaded their last cd the other day. I think they even have a girl singer. At least she does some singing on the mellower parts, I dunno if shes the screamer. BUT IT’S ALWAYS GREAT WHEN SHE IS, AMIRITE?? This is fuckin’ metal as balls and pretty awesome too. It’s grindcore to the extreme, with rad programming and those cute little jazzy interludes that all these bands are all about. And breakdowns!! They’r the shit, so go listen to them on myspace, and try not to soil your undies.
They just got signed to Century Media too! Yay!
Before I forget, lemme mention this. Ferret is the worst label ever these days, they couldn’t produce a good cd (minus ETID) if they had to.
Yay for Inhale Exhale, the first cd is better and more metal if you ask me. Check out the song Redemption-metal as eff that song is. As for the new album, its good, its catchy, it has more singing it, but all in all they’re doing more of the same rocking out they were doing on the last record. The singing parts remind me of Finch. One of the cool things about this band is that they don’t have breakdowns in their songs, and they still pull off great metal music, few of which can do. I mean lets face it, The Bled, Norma Jean, August Burns Red, ETID, all of em really wouldn’t be much of anywhere without their bongdongular (xhbrx) breakdowns. Long story short, I Swear…-good listen.
Pirate metal=gay.
Misery Signals-haven’t listened to the new cd yet but a couple records ago there was this song called Five Years thats (I believe) the most listened to metal song on my ipod, the song is effing great, metal metal metal, lyrics to sing along with, fucking bombass breakdowns galore. Gooood shit. The rest of the cd and music in general is crap, so was 7 Angels & Plagues, their former self.
Ah that was fun.