Review Summary: Release the Hostage, to sum it up, pretty much kicks ass. With signature head-banging breakdowns, widely ranged screams, and some awesome, creative drumming, I'd definitely recommend it.
1. The Maycry
After an intro taken from Ghostbusters II, the Maycry explodes into a frenzy of drums, guitar, and screaming that's a little misleading if you look to the first song for a picture of the entire album. Soon enough, however, it turns into singing and a really cool breakdown that builds up to fall into more singing and standard song. The song again does a nice build-up to a segment where the band shouts "I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!" Screaming ensues, and soon after the chorus. The band switches tempo and time signature three times in another breakdown, and the song ends with Jesse screaming "Let the blood run black!" Overall, a good way to begin the album, and a great rocker. For 6:01 long, though, this song really doesn't seem to last too long...
2. Calamity Jane
With the ending of the Maycry comes a style most fans of Fallenday won't expect, a fairly mellow guitar part and the chorus of the song reminiscient of an old western. Before long, Jesse begins his screaming, and you begin to get a slightly better picture of the band's new style. Some acoustic strumming takes place in the middle of the song, but before long it turns into one of my favorite breakdowns on the album. The song ends suddenly, but leads you nicely into the next song. Though this song isn't one of my top favorites for the album, it can really stick in your head.
3. You Turn
The song begins with guitar-work you wouldn't really expect with the band, and soon begins to show you that guitar squeels will be a reoccuring tool in this album. This song really focuses on screaming. Soon, a cool guitar build-up leads you into a crushing bridge where the energy is released in a fury that will destroy you if you have the volume up high enough. The song mellows out into some guitar-drumming work, and ends with the guitar. Not one of my personal favorites, but a good song nonetheless.
4. Release the Hostage
The title track of the album begins sort of like You Turn, but with far more energy, and the energy stays, with the album consisting of a nice mix of screaming and singing. After three minutes, the song tricks you into thinking it has an early ending, but soon goes into a mix of metal-hardcore, and gives way to a segment that builds up nicely to the first guitar solo I think I've ever heard from them. Soon it gives way to one of their most hardcore moments, where the Scourge goes back to their name's roots and screams out "Are you a god? Then die!!! The song ends rather suddenly, and leaves a kind of impression on you. It's spot in the album is pretty well-chosen, and is the most hard-hitting song since The Maycry.
5. We Used a Thesaurus and All We Got Was This Stupid Song Name
The title of this song was specifically chosen to make fun of Fallout Boy and Panic! At the Disco, and does a pretty good job of it by making the song have no relation to the title itself. The song begins on a note that sounds kind of like You Turn again, but soon reveals one if it's differences when Jesse lets out a "Yeah!" that takes you back to the 80's. The guitar work goes back in style a ways as well, but before long the song goes back to hardcore in a riveting breakdown marked with BJ's guitar style. The song stays more hardcore until it comes back to the chorus, and soon leads into a chant which will last until the end of the song: "I'm coming clean for the first time, don't dirty my smile. I'm coming clean for the last time, I'm staying a while." The song ends with it, and is a pretty good song in my opinion, which leads the album into it's second half.
6. Guns Win Wars
The song reveals itself as a political anthem right off the bat, but stays true to The Scourge's style. The song is marked by a crushing breakdown reminiscient of You Turn's, but goes one step further with another shouting session by the band, in which they all say (or at least this is what I hear,) "I will not follow, I will make a change." The song soon gives way to a more mellow part where the chorus reveals itself, another chant of "We can sing louder, we can scream louder." A brief interlude follows, and the chant is punctuated by screaming, but it ends the song. With the quality of this song, it's a pity it's the shortest.
7. Rook Takes Queen
One of my favorites. The song lures you in with a mellow guitar part, but closes it's jaws around you when the drumming and a brutal scream break in. Throughout the song, the beat isn't fast or anything, but it manages to retain the energy quite nicely. The chorus is one of the most capturing on the album. Halfway through the song it breaks into psychadellic rock and we're introduced to a cool segment where there's a short drum solo followed by a short guitar solo. A build-up follows another build-up to the breakdown, which is actually broken by short guitar interludes. Again, there's a short , mellow guitar piece followed by more energetic stuff. The song ends quickly, but ties it up well with a scream backedup by frantic beats from Scott. This song is probably going to be one of the favorites for the album.
8. The Phalanx
The second song on the album to begin with the chorus, this one brings it in much differently, starting with only words and no music at all until a guitar slide brings it onto us with full force. Again, this song is one of my album favorites, and seems to be about people causing drama over the internet. This song really stands out from the rest, because of a few things, such as a sweeping, energetic bridge and the only digital voice enhancements on the album. The breakdowns in this song really catch you, and it's marked with a short mellow interlude that brings you back to the old Fallendays. The song ends quickly, leaving you in rapture. Definitely one of my favorites...
9. Dearly Departed
This song is the most popular song the band's ever come out with. It was originally released under Fallenday, but they brought it back with a new recording here, and it's the closest thing to a single they have. However, they do a good job of not making it too single-ish, and there parts of this song that blow you away. For instance, there are two breakdwons, both absolutely riveting, and that guaruntee an explosion of moshpit activity during concerts. The drumming is really showcased during certain parts of this song. After a short mellow interlude/build up, you're hit with crushing force when the chorus repeats. The song even has a full circle ending when the intro repeats itself for the outro. This song is a real standout for the album.
10. Good News From Kvatch for a Change
After Dearly Departed, you'll be wondering what could possibly follow up, but this song (whose title comes from the Elder Scrolls game Oblivion, by the way,) really takes the position. After some epic work, the song goes immediately into a breakdown, followed by some singing and a tempo change with some really cool guitar work and some metallic drumming. After a bit, the song reveals itself to have a message about peace, which comes out even stronger later, with the second chorus. After a scream/chant session, the chorus comes back, and shows you an even more metal quality. The sceondary chorus comes in, and it's really epic sounding: "We don't have to fight each other, we can live like brothers." The song brings back a memory of The Maycry when the whole band starts shouting it while the drums continue in the background in a kind of strange, incredible breakdown. From there the song is lead into a repeating breakdown which fades out, ending the cd. Overall, a really cool song, and I think at least in the top 3 for the album.
Overall, this album really rocks. From the new style to the crushing moments, to the extremely powerful moments, THIS CD WILL ROCK YOU!
4.5/5
