Review Summary: Great Cd for a few listens, but it grows old quickly as per the lack of originality.
Upon first hearing Ontario's 'The Gorgeous', who broke up a few years back, I thought they were simply amazing. Of course, at the time I was much younger and hadn't exposed myself to music as I now diligently do. Don't get me wrong, the Cd is good, hell, some songs on it pass for great, but the thing that attributes for the loss in points, is that 'Great Lakes' lacks creativity and replayability, though the two go hand in hand.
The Gorgeous play metalcore, which means that, though they're extremely talented in what they do, it's nothing new, nor very exciting. Now when I had first heard this I hadn't the faintest idea of what metalcore was or consisted of, and this gave me a completely different stance on the album. Perhaps Cd's shouldnt be judged in comparison to others, but at the same time, they must, or a rating wouldn't be applicable and each album would be unmeasurable.
What surprised me about the CD was the last song. Compared to the rest of the album, the last song (Dumb and Dahmer), is inexpliquably atmospheric, closing the debut (and final) cd of a scarcely known, yet immensely talented group, quite effectively. The songs tend to range from 3 and a half minutes to 5 minutes tops, and dont leave any room for melodic interludes or acoustic jams. But what they lack for in melody they make up for in intensity.
Now when reading this one's stomach would probably shrink and they would immediately compare this to Norma Jean or the Chariot in terms of sound, but this is actually quite accurate, save for the vocals. What seperates these guys from bands such as that is the screaming. The vocals of The Gorgeous incluse singing in many songs, or yelling with almost singing intended and their songs are typically more melodic than the other two groups i mentioned.
The thing that ruined this album for me was the lack of replayability due to all the songs sounding the same, or very similar. If the band had chosen to vary their sound they could have accomplished something well worth a 4 or 5 in my books, but instead it seems like much of their talent was wasted in chugging background guitar and inaudable bass instead of showcasing their abilities. Not one solo is on this album, though that isn't a bad thing.
Too bad the band has broken up, I would've liked to see their second effort, with a little creativity this band would've made a step in the right direction and advanced their career effectively.
Note-Worthy songs: (Yes, the song names are stupid)
Lake Ontario
King Of The Delta Blues
Dumb and Dahmer
