Upon Beauty Rests
For the Days We Fear the Air We Breathe
February 14, 2008
Jibe Records
This is a sweet little gem that (of course) Brandon brought to my awareness. On this six-song ep you’ll find what reminds me of, the older melodic hardcore-ish music that we heard from Glassjaw, Hopesfall, and Underoath way back in the day. Theres just something about this that screams 2001/2002. There’s singing, keyboards, screaming, monstrous breakdowns, audio clips from movies (I think its Brad Pitt, dunno what movie though), a bit of emotion, and of course a little bit of gayness here and there. This is a good cd and I think the future looks good for UBR, with some better production, toned down singy parts, and more consistent song structure, this band ought to release a solid full length hopefully this year, if not then early 09.
ASHES dIVIDE
Keep Telling Myslef It’s Alright
April 8, 2008
Island Records
Ahh…Billy Howerdel, how we love A Perfect Circle and Mer de Noms, easily one of the best cd’s of all time, and all (music) written by you! Skip a couple of years later and we get Ashes Divide, another project from the musical talents of Mr. Howerdel, and how we wish that Maynard James Keenan had something to do with this record, because he would’ve made it a lot better. Billy H. sings on this record, which isn’t it’s downfall, but the lyrics are nowhere near to what Tool front man Maynard J.K. can do. Even this music really isn’t as inspired as APC’s was. The guitars and bass and drums and vocals of Mer de Noms was simply put, beauty on a cd. The way each word was sung stitched together with the unrivaled music of the time was probably one of the best cds of its time and is still easy to listen to today. Bah, I’m comparing this to APC too much, and its just nowhere near the pedestal that its on. But alas, its decent enough, its not far from what 30 Seconds to Mars produces, except that Jared Leto’s project is better than this, catchier too. Maybe with time this cd will grow on me, but maybe not. R.I.P. A Perfect Circle. We miss you.
BRANDON REVIEWS THE ASHES DIVIDE CD JUST AHEAD!! CLICK THAT ‘READ MORE’ LINK, DUDE!!
BRANDON EDIT!! I almost posted this in the comments section, then I almost posted it in a post of my own, but then I remembered I had absolute power here on the BEP blog so I thought I’d throw it on the end of this to give you a little Brandon vs Fool OF Gold Review action. Hope you don’t mind J-Dogg.
Alrighty, I’m about 3/4 through with the Ashes Divide cd right now as I type this, and I feel I’m able to accurately comment on it. I’m trying really hard not to think of APC when I listen to this. As Mr. FoG said, you really can’t compare Ashes Divide with APC at all because this doesn’t come close to the greatness APC was in their heyday. The music is more generic and the vocals, while similar to Maynard, just aren’t the same. Overall, the atmosphere here is nowhere near that of Mer de Noms. HOWever. I’ve gotta say I kinda like this. Granted, it does feel like 30 Seconds To Mars-Lite a lot of the time but I think that may be why I like it. Most of these songs seem like they have the ‘hmm what was that?’ quality..as in you’re listening to the radio, they come on, and you’re kiiinda intrigued by what you just heard to the point of wanting to hear some more. And really, isn’t that the main goal of a band like this? Sure it’s no APC or 30STM, but it is above average modern rock fodder at a time when a good 90% of the stuff that really gets put out there for public consumption on the radio is just plain awful. Record of the year? Not even close. But it is a pretty quality listen..’for what it is’.
