Review Summary: Abandon All Ships! are back and once again they've sunk the ship, this time only deeper....
Abandon All Ships! are back, they've had a whirlwhind of a year; their debut LP 'Geeving' is a step in the wrong direction, infact 'Geeving' at times is horrible.
AAS! have been active since 2008, they're from Canada and they play trance-enduced, synth metal aka 'Synthcore' or 'Trancecore', their EP demonstrated good beats and catchy synth lines but that was pretty much it.
Here we are just over a year later and nothing has really improved.
Vocals:
Aita and Broda provide the vocals, Aita screams and Broda 'sings'. Aita's screams are weak and lack range, they sound forced and passionless. Broda provides the auto-tuned clean vocals, at times they can be overwhelming and it questions the fact whether he can actually sing or it's just part of their sound or he can't actually sing and is getting paid for nothing.
Either way, the vocals at times can be bearable and sometimes enjoyable but generally they're tasteless.
1.5/5
Muscianship(including Lyrics):
Geeving is just another breakdown album, what makes it worse is that the same breakdowns are used over and over again. Instrumentally, Geeving is very generic and AAS! do nothing to standout in the genre.
The guitars are basic and demonstrate very little musical intelligence and experimentation, the drums are pretty good and switch up the pacing a bit but other than that, they're fairly standard.
The only interesting thing about Geeving is the electronic/synth/trance aspect, the synths add fluidity and a sense of freshness into the overall bland, boring album; if it wasn't for the synths, Geeving wouldn't even be worth a listen. Generally they're quite creative and probably are the only welcomed part of AAS!, however even the synthesisers grate after a while.
Lyrically, the album suffers even more, AAS! cannot write songs, they rarely make sense and sound quite random. At times they manage to string together a catchy chorus or a verse but overall it's pretty poor and quite embarrassing to think they're actually a signed band.
1.5/5
Sound:
Geeving sounds like your typical Metalcore/Post-Hardcore/Trancecore album, nothing really stands out soundwise, only the synths but even after a few listens they can become redundant. Geeving's sound isn't fresh, it is basic and typical for the already crowded genre.
The only way I could describe it is, a sometimes well co-ordinated mess.
1/5
Overall:
Geeving is a shameful debut LP and it only insults the already criticised genre they're part of.
Geeving has very few highlights and it is generally a constant low. It lacks inspiration, creativity and a certain level of muscianship that is needed to survive in the competitive industry.
Regardess of how good or bad Geeving or AAS! are, they're both popular.
If you want a musical epileptic fit then go ahead and give Geeving a try but it isn't for the faint hearted.
1.5/5
