 | Tracklist:
1. Son of the Morning
2. The New Breed
3. In All Honesty
4. Breathing Blood
5. Reveries of Flight
6. World Without A Sun
7. The Fire Dawn
8. A Banquet for Traitors
9. Commissioned by Kings
10. The Finisher
Release Date: 2009 | |
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On 41 Lists
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| Summary: VeggieTales on steroids. |
7 of 7 thought this review was well written
I can still remember my first time experiencing part of the Saw series. I can actually never forget it since my friends will never let me live it down. It was opening night of Saw 3 and we had just got done eating at Denny’s on our way to the theater. I can recall it being one of the best meals of my life due to me not having any food throughout the day. The line for tickets was extremely long, and I let out a sigh as I didn’t see what all the fuss was behind the movie. The previews were boring and so there went the highlight of my night beside the dinner and then it happened. The most graphic scene in my filmography occured, it should be noted that I am not one of the violence enthusiasts, so all the torture porn b.s. is/was beyond me. One of the main characters of the movie was a doctor and needed to operate brain surgery on a patient, so we of course proceeded to watch as she cuts open the head with a saw, carves out a piece of the skull, peels back a layer of the brain, and then releases all of the pressuring blood. I immediately stood up said, “NOPE!” as me and several people in front of me were reintroduced to the best part of my night.
I thankfully did not share the same experience when popping in Oh, Sleeper’s sophomore effort Son of the Morning. As most of us know sophomore releases can be extremely tricky as they can often make or break a bands career. How does one progress while still being able to incorporate exactly what it is that makes them who they are? Even more so, how does one progress in the slowly dying genre that is metalcore? Unfortunately, the band chose not to answer either of those questions this time around, as they tighten their unique take on metalcore, with basically a presentation of VeggieTales on steroids.
On their previous effort they fell into a trap of succumbing to a predictable approach with their ‘epic’ bible induced opera. Many songs either became underwhelmingly boring or too similar to really call the band anything new. This time around the band strip away a majority of the over-lengthy tracks carried by elongated sections of subpar instrumentals. They’re replaced with poppier hooks and catchier breakdowns, a much more A.D.D. friendly attraction, see Son of the Morning; while this will deter a morbid amount of interested listeners, elitist or not, it actually suits the band well. Take The New Breed for example, with its fantastic riff flaring about Micah’s aggressive vocals backed by the impressively improved clean vocalist Shane Blay and his 90’s pop reflecting hook.
It’s hard to really tell if the band was going for a true progression as nothing stellar happens instrumentally to signify a drastic improvement. Luckily both of the vocal departments sound saturated in swagger and are served raw stripping down a lot of the previous production. Songs like Son of the Morning, Reveries of Flight, and The Finisher all show a meager to instill evocative emotion into the listener, and going against the flow of the music renders almost impossible.
The heaviness has also been turned up a notch with more of the chanting throw downs signified beautifully on We Are the Archers, pop their head up several times throughout the listen. Gnarly engagers like, “ When we reach the gates all you'll hear us say is, ‘Bring out the dead! Bring out the dead!’” strike at all the right moments consciously hyping up the ever so sneaky breakdowns, that weave their way in and out of tracks. World Without A Sun enters with an impressive battle between Micah’s enraged yell, the drums scattering about, and the guitars fretting themselves quite sufficiently. Along with being the best track on the album, it really showcases what this album, could have been.
While yes it is true the band have honed in on strengthening their sound, they ultimately come across on just managing to crank out acceptable metalcore, which is far from what the genre needs to become interesting again. They seem to rest on the typical slicing of the guitars against the stuttering drum beat to carry a majority of the tracks. And while some of the attempts are successful, see the The Fire Dawn, it all starts becoming too predictable again. There’s also too many times things start sounding familiar, thankfully not from themselves, but by other clear influences – ala Underoath and Thrice are sure to be the biggest attractors. Numerous songs start upon a dissonant vocal intro coinciding with poppy drum beats and uninspiring vocals. Though, Reveries of Flight imitates Thrice all too perfectly, the band are never able to recapture it as their own, even with the great emotional outro.
Lastly, something I fear most and what connects back to the intro, I’m afraid the band relies too much on their story telling to guide the music. Can the band actually write something relatable? Sure it may be a signature of the band, but can they really write six or seven concept albums? Would it still be interesting if I wrote every review, with a loosely connected intro only to dispel it to the bands advantage? You could have gone your whole life without knowing how I reacted that fateful night, or what occurred on the movie screen to make me act that way. Just like you could simply pass this off without needing to hear what takes place, because neither the lyrics nor music need to be heard. There’s only so many times we’ll want to hear the Devil challenge God, even with delectable lines like, “I WILL CUT OFF YOUR HORNS! Just like there’s only so many times I’m going to want to throw up from watching brain surgery…
Recommended Tracks Include: Son of the Morning, World Without A Sun, and The Finisher
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Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
The line that made me use the intro came from the fire dawn
"I'll be knee-deep, knee-deep in a sea of their organs"
which had me uncontrollably picturing the horrific scene.
Digging: The Weeknd - House of Balloons Digging: The Weeknd - House of Balloons | | |
Cool review. I hate the Saw movies eh. Still haven't checked this out yet, but i did like their debut, abeit it's repetiveness.
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Saw movies were lame.
Digging: John Talabot - Fin
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^ correction saw II through whenever-the-hell it finally ends suck, Saw I was pretty good
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
i can live without seeing another, i'm positive of it.
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the saw movies suck, but the review (and the album) are both quite good
| | | Album Rating: 2
Aside from both of the vocals departments, which sound saturated in swagger and served raw stripping down a lot of the previous production.
Fragment. (or just incorrect)
And while some of the attempts are successful, The Fire Dawn
A wild guess says you forgot to type "by". (smiley which I'm typing out because code is broken lol)
I haven't seen Saw. I prefer horror with brains.
Digging: The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger Digging: The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger | | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
thanks for pointing those out. i'll be be sure to fix them. and you must not see many horror films then, lol.
| | | Album Rating: 2
I've hardly seen any, and the few I love are old. (The Shining rules)
But anyways...
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
the shining is amazing. i'm more of a thriller/suspense kind a guy.
though i do like secret window.
| | | Album Rating: 2 | Sound Off
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD, BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
Good review.
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good review, little lengthy intro but it i guess it gets the point across
the few songs i've heard from this were cool but nothing too spectacular, i'll stick to Constellations if i want recent metalcore c_c
Digging: Haunted Shores - Cyclamen/Haunted Shores Split Digging: Haunted Shores - Cyclamen/Haunted Shores Split
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Saw isn't even gory man. The most uncomfortable part of that movie was the twisting rack. And that was due to implied pain, rather than showing gore. I've never seen Saw as torture porn. =/ I just don't get it.
Mmm, I'm not sure if I want to try this album. The debut was alright, but really just an Underoath rip off.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I don't really get the tagline.
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
VeggieTales is a cartoon about vegetables reenacting bible stories.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
No I know I just don't get what it has to do with the album..
K nvm I kinda get it, sorry its late haha.
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
oh sorry i figured it was the VT reference, but yeah this cd is basically biblical stories exploded.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Ya I def can see how you would get that. Good review.
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
thank you!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Solid review, the summary is lolz.
When I Am God kind of bored me, so I found this album to be a step forward of sorts, but I do agree that they need to change some things up in their next album.
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