Review Summary: Blessthefall’s growth in popularity is questionable, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t any good. The first few tracks are good, the rest is major filler.
3 of 7 thought this review was well written
To start off, this is a post/hardcore band. If it were screamo the album would not have come out the way it did. That being said, it is an OK post/hardcore band. Blessthefall has plenty of growth and development ahead of them, most notably with trying to be different, rather than trying to fit in.
His Last Walk is Blessthefall's first full album recording. The band is signed with Science Records. For the longest time their CD was only available on some websites, but it was finally released to Hot Topic on April 10th. The band formed in Phoenix in January of 2004; as such I am quite impressed by their ability to create a respectable album that’s already being sold in stores. Blessthefall have done alright with finding their own sound and bringing it out throughout the album. The mixing and general production on His Last Walk is done sub-par, but its not too bad.
Band members (at the time)
Craig- Vocals
Mike- Lead Guitar
Matt- Drums
Eric-Lead Guitar
Jared- Bass
The following are my interpretations on how the different instruments and vocals fell together in the album.
Vocals
Craig Mabbit is an overrated musician in the post-hardcore world at best, but he can still sing. He gives a respectable tone for the music and sets the overall feeling for the album. His voice is proof that a lot of bands in Blessthefall’s genre get their distinct sound from the singer. As much as this bugs me, I still love the sound, and have developed an attachment to it. Screaming is frequent in this album as well, from both Craig and Jared. The screams sound great, but it's obvious the recording engineer used a distortion plugin for mixing the screaming parts.
Guitar
Plenty of two note octave chords, hammer ons, and pull offs. Mike and Eric got pretty creative with the melodies, despite the overplayed genre they are stuck in. In essence they did well with creative musical riffs that go along with the vocals. Some of the melodies are down right difficult to play, as they are all over the fret board, while others are really simple and are used in songs no one will listen too.
Bass
The bass player jared plays essentially the same rhythms as the bass drum. The notes throughout the album are either the same as the vocals or the guitar, or go along with the music harmonically. The harmonic notes greatly help the structure of the sound the band is trying to get out. It’s mixed in with the rest of the music correctly, not too loud or soft.
Drums
The drums in His Last Walk sound great. Matt keeps good time with his feet, with pretty clean rhythms. His hands are a little dirty, but it is not too noticeable. Sometimes the rhythms Matt plays are exactly in sync with the guitars, like in any breakdowns (which are frequent), but through most of every song he plays his own parts.
As with most music in this genre, these tracks will sound very similar. If you happen to purchase this album you will soon find out that you will probably only listen to maybe half of the songs, ever. It all depends on how much you like the genre. I have no particular favorite song; but highlights of the album are most notably tracks 1,2,3,4,5,11, and 12.
On a side note, Track 12, the acoustic version of “Rise Up” is actually quite a beautiful rendition of the initial version. It has beautiful acoustic guitar parts with clean singing and harmonics.
Blessthefall’s growth in popularity is questionable, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t any good. Blessthefall delivered a semi-solid album that will allow them for plenty of redemption for their sophmore album.
Good review but you could've talked a little bit more about the music. As for the music, somehow I doubt this is as good as you suggest. Keep writing!This Message Edited On 04.15.07This Message Edited On 04.15.07
its not as good as he suggests. he should of mentioned that they are similar to Alesana who arent that good. i cant see any big similarities to either underoath or senses fail. these guys arent horrible but i dont hear anything that separates them from the rest of the crop. i can say that the clean vocals are pretty decent. oh yeah i dont hear any As I Lay Dying in their music, maybe the double bass on the drums but thats it
i don't remember comparing their sound to Senses Fail, but still I get where you're coming from. Underoath is pretty much one of the first bands to create the alternating between singing and screaming, which A LOT of new bands take from. The band itself says they're influenced by Underoath, so, I'll take their word for it. As for As I Lay Dying, many of the guitar riffs take on after As I Lay Dying. Just compare the two and they sound similar. Whether this is good or not doesn't really apply, it just matters what they do with that sound.
This band is by far one of the greatest in the screamo genre, the cd is incredible. every song is great, no matter how many times i listen to this cd it gets beter every time.
to undead: i see what youre saying, i misread what you wrote. after listening to this a couple more times, i see a few influences by underoath. the AILD reference is still iffy for me, cuz a lot of screamo bands use the same riff style and AILD are much heavier. i understand what youre going for though.
You may be right about AILD. I actually don't even like that band. I listened to AILD for the first time in like3 months, but they do have a slightly different sound. Iffy is a good word. I'll agree with you there. Its hard for me to compare BTF to a lot of other screamo bands, becuase I don't listen/like many others. I listen to underOATH, The Used, and Saosin mostly for bands of this genre. Trust me, I've heard all of the bands, I just don't like very many of them. Blessthefall is one band I obviously like a lot; as much as Opeth actually- which is saying something.
For anyone who cares, I started to like Blessthefall when I saw them in concert last month in Tempe, Phoenix. They are sick live.
If you haven't already, check out A Skylit Drive. If you like Blessthefall you would love them. But Blessthefall really did grow on me. Can't wait to see them at warped tour.This Message Edited On 07.16.07
How has no one even mentioned the orgasmic offering from blessthefall titled Message to the Unknown?!?! I want to touch myself listening to that song, it gives me goosebumps. "Guys Like You" is one of those songs that with a proper sound system just sounds amazing with the double bass. Personally, I can't think of the names of anything past track 6 or 7, literally everything before that is so good I don't bother to go any further haha.
Standout Tracks:
Could Tell a Love
Message to the Unknown
Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad
Rise Up
Higina
Ok , I will say up front that you can not say that this band is IN FACT not screamo. Perhaps to you it is not screamo, but post hardcore or whatever you want to call it. In reality it doesn't matter if you think this is screamo, or post-hardcore, or metalcore. Everyone is going to have a different opinion about it, because they are too closely linked for someone to point out that they are only a single genre. It is my opinion that they are screamo. I will also add that Blessthefall says they are screamo. So I will throw that term around all I want, all knowing contributing reviewer.
This Message Edited On 08.21.07
Apparently you did not read a single word of my last comment. First off, explain to what you think Blessthefall really is, and why it does not fall anywhere near screamo. Also, this website says,
"Screamo - I mentioned this under the "emo" section, however in recent years some bands have sort of re-integrated some diverse emo influences. With the band Saetia, for instance, you'll hear heavy fast screamed hardcore parts, with abrupt starts and stops and guitar focus more from the classic emo side, and quiet, twinkly melodic parts in between. "Screamo" has become sort of a catchall modern category for all of this for the few new bands playing this style, often used by younger fans who weren't around when the screaming vocal thing was new and unique."
To you, Blessthefall does not apply to this at all. Why? They think it does, after all. Please take that into consideration. What is this "distinct sound" you speak of? have you listened any of Blessthefalls music? and I really mean LISTENED to it. On a final note, if you need to educate yourself from some website that defines what Emo, or Screamo, is without learning from your own experiances, you are a moron.
