Review Summary: If you ever feel like being 15 again, this album make will you feel like it. It is a very consistent album that shows much promise.
I have been putting this album off for a while, and do you blame me? My Ticket Home has been one of those bands that was just "there". They seemed coast the metal core music scene and kind of padded the metal-core genre overall. With a below average debut and the fact that they sounded like every other metal-core band out there, they just felt like just another band that I can just kind of ignore. So why did I give this album a try then? Well, with a combination of peer pressure and the fact that I drive an hour and a half to work on Fridays, I decided that one listen wouldn't hurt.
To my surprise, My Ticket Home changed their sound quite drastically. I will admit that the sound is a little difficult to describe. They seemed to take the best elements of many 90s metal bands and threw it in a blender. Because of this, the main thing I can say about Strangers Only is that My Ticket Home has brought something new to the Nu-Metal table. Yeah, seriously. My Ticket Home has brought us an energetic album that not only broke my expectations, but made an album that was actually fun to listen to multiple times.
Strangers Only starts out very upbeat, fast and it never lets up. It throws exactly what this album is about to your face. You can figure out what this album going to offer within the first 30 seconds, and this actually works to this albums favor. There is no pretentiousness or no pretending that this album is going to blow you away. They pretty much cut the crap that would have distracted the flow of this album, and gave you all the important parts.
The instruments are your typical Nu-Metal sounding instruments. As a whole, they sound great and are well mixed/produced. The instruments do their job and they do it well. There is no stupid breakdowns or forced solos either I might add. The vocals have a nice dirty sound to it; it fits exactly what this album wants to achieve. They also do a great job guiding you through the album.
Another thing I want to add is how consistent the album is. Songs like Painfully Bored is a great example of this. Painfully Bored is not a great song per say, but it keeps the fast pace that Spitted not chewed established. All the songs keep the album at a consistent, but fast pace. Nothing sticks out like a soar thumb in this album, and nothing makes you roll your eyes. The album seems to know exactly what goals it wanted to accomplish and it passed with flying colors.
The album isn't perfect though. The lyrics are rather, umm, childish. Again, painfully bored is a great example of this. When you actually listen to the words, it just feels like something a 14 year old would write. So if you listen to music for the lyrics, you may want to avoid this. But Id argue that the genre of Nu-Metal wouldn't be of your preference if you listen to music for the lyrics. Plus, all the other positives of this album much overweigh the poor lyrics.
Overall, this album is a very solid and consistent album. It gives you everything you would want in a Nu-Metal album and more. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Nu-Metal, hard rock, or if you just need something energetic for working out.
I am going to give Strangers Only a 3.75/5
