To be honest, i had doubts about getting this album in the first place. i'd have only heard their released EP (Forever Scorned) and one song of this album (The Caitiff Choir: Defeatism) which my friend had sent me. i immediately popped this disc into my player after i had purchased it. and what hit me was nearly 45 mins of great metalcore music. having both brutal and melodic moments. not to mention the great drumming and guitar riffs. anyway on to the track by track review...
1. My Promise
You're greeted with a noise that sounds sort of creepy yet exciting which slowly builds up to...BANG. guitar notes pulm muted and good double bass work and drumming. soon after, comes the metalcore riffaging thats not that bad at all, which also makes you feel like headbanging to it. you are introduced to nick's scream in this song. i must say that i was quite impressed when i heard his voice. he sounds really good with his scream. the whole song is just mainly metalcore riffaging and good drum work. then a breakdown comes in around the middle of the song, nothing special about it though. this song is pretty brutal, doesnt let up abit. not a bad song althogether, gives a brief taste of whats to come.
Rating: 3.5/5
2. Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads
A small drum fill before the guitars and nick comes in with scream vocals again. i must admit that i had thought that this was going to be another mediocre metalcore song. but then at about the 23 second mark, the first surpise comes in with the chorus. we hear clean vocals and melodic singing in it, with guitar chords playing. and nick sounds good with his clean singing voice too mind you. after the chorus, it goes into another verse and then into the chorus again. then, the bridge follows with a few palm muted guitars and some screaming and clean vocals before going into the chorus again. one of the more melodic songs of the CD. good song. definitely pumps you up for the next few songs.
Rating: 4/51:53
3. The Radiance
chords played over the guitar and some drum work introduces you to this song. and before long, the riffs comes in with nick singing cleanly "This room is dark, yet this bed is unfamiliar. my only company tonight". It definitely hit me that the verses were sung completely. but i liked it alot. and it sounded good as well. the chorus is again sung, and its really melodic as well. the riffs in this song sound that bit repeative but IDT has put it in a way that it still sounds really good. the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula is used. at around 1:53, nick comes in and hits you with screamed vocals. done really nicely IMO. it fits really nicely into the song. a soft part then plays before the choruse ensues again but this time with screamed vocals layered over the clean ones. and the song ends. again, one of the more melodic moments of the album. one of my favourites of the album.
Rating: 4.5/5
4. The Depravity Waltz
Starts off pretty heavy reverting to the usual hardcore screamed vocals. good double bass work on this song. one of the more brutal moments of the album, this song doesnt let up until its end. probably the heaviest song of the album. a breakdown comes in at over a minute or so, but probably just your standard filler breakdown. not one of my favourites but still a fairly decent song.
Rating: 3/5
5. A Threnody For Modern Romance
Introduced to the song by a strange noise and then again, it hits you with a good guitar riff and double bass. the guitar riffs are pretty catchy and melodic. the verse comes in with the guitar riffs and nick's screamed vocals. you must already be familiar by now that this band uses the verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula often. sure enough, the chorus comes in with this cleanly sung part over some leadish guitar parts. as the song progresses, you are consumed by how catchy the riffs and vocals are. and for the first time in the album at around 2:20, a guitar solo plays. after the solo, the "sing-along" part comes along with all instruments stopping with the exception of the drums and vocals for a brief moment. then another chorus follows and it ends that way. very catchy and melodic song. probably the best song of the album, which justifies why its the first single off this album.
Rating: 4.5/5
6. Marigold
the song starts off with the whole band playing. the guitar notes sounds harmonized in the opening riff. you are then greeted with, yes another song that has cleanly sung verses. the verse ends with screamed vocals that are very nicely done and fit into. followed by the, yes you guessed it, chorus. your standard IDT chorus here. catchy and melodic cleanly sung chorus. after the second chorus, the bridge comes in with screamed vocals which are again very pleasant sounding. and the guitar riffs are melodic as hell. another chorus ensues and the song ends just like that. another wonderful song. although by now, you'd have listened to the same verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula alot. but not that it makes any difference. one of the better songs of the album
Rating: 4.5/5
7. Freak Gasoline Fight Accident
Probably the best song here IMO. You are hit by a wonderfully done guitar lead piece that starts this song off. as soon as nick's scream comes in, you are sure of whats to come. the verse comes in with nick screaming over a very leadish harmonized guitar part. this song clearly shows the versatility of nick. he can scream, growl and sing...all very nicely done. the chorus hits with again, cleanly sung vocals and is really melodic, played over chords. and a short guitar lead comes in nearing the end of the chorus. after the chorus, another melodic lead piece is heard over nicks screamed vocals. double bass and good guitar work can be heared here. breakdown follows soon after. again not that wonderful a breakdown, but what follows is very nice to hear. a few double bass is kicked and you are hit with constant double bass pedalling and a very catchy guitar riff with nick screaming the vocals over it. very nice part on that one. makes you want to rewind and listen to that again. chorus follows, and the song ends with a few chugga guitar parts and nicks scream. very very good song. good mixture of brutality and melody.
Rating: 5/5
8. The Caitiff Choir: Revelations
again, this song starts off pretty damn heavy with the standard guitar riffaging and good drum work. this song is pure brutality. no clean vocals here or whatever. however, the riffs and drums are still very nicely done. a few breakdowns here and there in this song. but overall, nothing special. one of the more skippable tracks.
Rating: 2/5
9. Our Disintegration
yet again, starts off pretty heavy. double bass can be heard together with the all so usual melodic guitar riffs. verses are screamed in this song. chugga riffs are heared over the verses. then chorus follows, with a few palm muted notes and then some leadish part. chorus are again sung cleanly. back again into the verse with double bass work and melodic riffs. chorus follows yet again and then into a brutal bridge part with chugga palm muted riffs and screaming. song ends with a pretty heavy part. not one of the better songs of the album, but still fun to listen to.
Rating: 3/5
10. Naenia
One of my personal favorites off this album. starts off with guitar playing chords then into a nicely done catchy riff and into the verse. cleanly sung verses are heard. has a very poppy feeling to it. screams are heared over the guitar riffs as we near the chorus. that part is again, very nice to hear. chorus is melodic as hell, and can be quite addictive. the 2nd verse comes in and again you think that this is going to be another standard verse. but as we near the end of the verse, one of my personal favourite moment of the song comes in with nick screaming the vocals of a part of the verse instead of cleanly singing it. very nicely done, although nothing special but very nice to hear. chorus follows and the bridge after. bridge is a mixture of screamed vocals and cleanly sung vocals. back into the chorus after and the song ends. very melodic and catchy song. definitely shows the melodic side of IDT.
Rating4.5/5
11. The Caitiff Choir: Defeatism
last song of the album starts off with...is that the keyboard playing? anyway, sounds like a keyboard starting the song off with a melodic piece. nick comes in screaming "Surrender, you know i failed you...". chugga guitar riffs are heard. then about 40 secs in, a melodic guitar riff is played over nick screaming over it. still part of the verse though, leading into the chorus. you can hear the keyboard playing when the chorus kicks in. cleanly sung chorus again, and very melodic. the usual verse comes in again, then the chorus...before the bridge kicks in with very melodic leadish guitar part, leading into the last chorus. you can hear a brief acoustic guitar playing before the chorus. after the chorus, nick screams "Surrender, you know i failed you..." yet again. and from there on, the song fades out with a synthetic drum piece...? amd the guitar plucking some notes. anyway, good song. and a good way to end a good album.
Rating: 4/5
Pros and Cons
Pros
1. If you like nick's vocals, you will love this album. he has very good vocal ability. from screaming, to growling to singing.
2. Very melodic and catchy guitar riffs.
3. Good drum work all around.
Cons
1. verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula is used too often.
2. some of the riffs may sound repeative.
3. bass is mostly inaudible.
4. most songs are too short at 3mins odd.
overall, a very good album to purchase. if you're a fan of IDT. definitely pick up this album.
