robotnerd Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 benchwarmer and i were just having a conversation about this topic. i am listening to the new as i lay dying, and on the surface it's pretty cool, it's got really fast thrashy metal riffs, some very reminiscent of old metallica, good drumming, cool solos, pretty good metal vocals, decent songs, but overall it rings hollow. it's pretty okay to listen to, but it just doesn't resonate with me. undoubtedly this record will make them very popular and a million ozzfest kids will love it. but it's just ending up seeming kind of boring to me. now, he and i both agree that the new darkest hour is AMAZING. superficially however, it's not drastically different from something like the new as i lay dying. similarly euro influenced thrash metal, similar screamy metal vocals, similar kind of melodic sense. but there is something about it that seems so much more authentic, so much more real, something that conveys the rage that can run through these guys veins. but what is that "something"? what really makes it different? what is that magical quality that some bands can tap into and some can't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I didn't know Darkest Hour was like As I Lay Dying. I've never listened to DH, but I'll have to check them out now. - Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfedaykinx Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 i think it has a lot to do with how you, the listener, perceives the music. i have almost the opposite opinion. i feel that 'an ocean between us' is as i lay dyings best work to date, and that 'undoing ruin' was darkest hour at their pinacle. i find 'deliver us' to be a bit bland and lacking in diversity. i think it really just boils down to what it is that the listener gets out of music and what band, or album, comes closest to hitting that mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robotnerd Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 i agree it's in what the listener gets out of it. but is it impossible to quantify or specify what the listener is getting out of it? i know talking about music is like dancing about architecture... but just kinda wondering what people think about it. in this specific example, for me, even after all the speed and distortion and screaming, as i lay dying doesn't convey any emotion to me. and what i'm trying to figure out is why the new darkest hour does, and this doesn't, but does that fall under the impossible to pin down explanation? i find it interesting you find deliver us to be bland and lacking in diversity, i think it's their most varied record to date. i love all their records, but i think deliver us has the most amount of branching out stylistically on a single record that they've done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfedaykinx Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 ill admit, i havent given deliver us the number of spins it deserves, but i havent gotten the initial feeling i got from undoing ruin. at this juncture im going to boil it down to song writing. i feel that undoing ruin had more cohesive, well written songs than deliver us does. i feel like they were trying to match the success of undoing ruin, and while recording a solid album, fell a bit short of that goal. whereas, with an ocean between us, i feel like AILD has branched out and away from their straight pummeling songs to writing songs that still destroy, but have a bit more finesse and melody than their older efforts. i also feel the new one has more memorable riffs and melodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 you know, the vast majority of the stuff that has come out this year has seemed kind of hollow. Even some of the stuff I've enjoyed(boys night out for example). I think a huge thing(at least with me) is how much you build a album up before hearing it for the first time. The more excited I get to hear something the more let down I seem to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 you know, the vast majority of the stuff that has come out this year has seemed kind of hollow. Even some of the stuff I've enjoyed(boys night out for example). I think a huge thing(at least with me) is how much you build a album up before hearing it for the first time. The more excited I get to hear something the more let down I seem to be. Agreed, a lot of times, the stuff I find has more resonance are records that come out of left field -- smaller bands who aren't getting crazy amounts of hype on the internet or anything, but just quietly assembled a bunch of really good songs. That's why my favorite record of the year thus far is this: It's just four kids from San Diego who no one had really paid any attention to, and they wrote a hell of a record. It's not without its small blemishes and mistakes, but the fact that they made it with no pressure on them or no expectations makes those blemishes seem more natural and better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Can you make any comparisons for Weatherbox? - Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Can you make any comparisons for Weatherbox?- Jeff Cursive + Say Anything + Criteria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I'm on board. - Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrc Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 you know, the vast majority of the stuff that has come out this year has seemed kind of hollow. Even some of the stuff I've enjoyed(boys night out for example). I think a huge thing(at least with me) is how much you build a album up before hearing it for the first time. The more excited I get to hear something the more let down I seem to be. No matter how much i love the old boys night out, the new album is boring. I think i spun it once and then gave it to my girlfriend and she doesnt even like it. Sad. i used to love the hell out of those guys. oh well at least they had 2 solid albums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benchwarmer Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Can you make any comparisons for Weatherbox?- Jeff Cursive + Say Anything + Criteria will have to check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 you know, the vast majority of the stuff that has come out this year has seemed kind of hollow. Even some of the stuff I've enjoyed(boys night out for example). I think a huge thing(at least with me) is how much you build a album up before hearing it for the first time. The more excited I get to hear something the more let down I seem to be. No matter how much i love the old boys night out, the new album is boring. I think i spun it once and then gave it to my girlfriend and she doesnt even like it. Sad. i used to love the hell out of those guys. oh well at least they had 2 solid albums. I keep flip-flopping on the new BNO. There's some reaaaaaaally good songs on it ("Get Your Head Straight," "Up With Me," "Hey Thanks"), but a lot of it coasts by without me even remembering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skumbucket Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 the new bno definitely does not have that thing that makes you gravitate to a band. no way, ray. as far as the original topic, i can't say it's a tangible thing that ingratiates a band to me, but as far as intangible facets i'd go with honesty. i think you can tell when a band means it and when their intentions aren't pure. that's why groups like the weakerthans don't put out a record every two years -- they write and record when they've got material they believe in, that they're behind 100%. no the flip side, a guy like ted leo can put out an album every 18 months but he never writes a dishonest or disingenuous track. they're putting themselves into it without pretense and without a goal of intentionally appealing to a certain demo or scene. they just do it and you can feel that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steventangent Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 That Weatherbox album is the business. I'd recommend. Super creative songwriting. edit : and they need to press it on vinyl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Thanks for the Weatherbox rec, definitely some good stuff in there. - Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 No matter how much i love the old boys night out, the new album is boring. I think i spun it once and then gave it to my girlfriend and she doesnt even like it. Sad. i used to love the hell out of those guys. oh well at least they had 2 solid albums. I keep flip-flopping on the new BNO. There's some reaaaaaaally good songs on it ("Get Your Head Straight," "Up With Me," "Hey Thanks"), but a lot of it coasts by without me even remembering it. I actually really hate the production on it. After I found out that they almost had Brian McTernan produce it I just got sad at how great it could have sounded. It's weird I love the songs but about half of them get old really fast. It doesn't help that I think Trainwreck is about a close to perfect that an album can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.