3 The Ghost You Gave To Me |
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 | Tracklist:
1. Sirenum Scopuli
2. React
3. Sparrow
4. High Times
5. Numbers
6. One With The Sun
7. Ghost You Gave To Me
8. Pretty
9. Afterglow
10. It's Alive
11. Only Child
12. Barrier
| Ranking: #54 for 2011 | |
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On 14 Lists
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| Summary: Is this the album that allows 3 to finally receive the recognition it deserves? |
4 of 4 thought this review was well written
While progressive rock has undergone somewhat of a renaissance of late (see Muse and Fair to Midland), 3 is still a relatively unknown band. Well, if The Ghost You Gave to Me is any indication, the band’s fans need to make more room in the bandwagon. The band features a stew of sounds, including (but not limited to): progressive metal, 80s hard rock, alternative, and flamenco.
As the lead vocalist and guitarist, it’s easy to simplify The Ghost You Gave to Me as the Joey Eppard show. His vocals are stellar at almost all points in the record, and his ability to switch from acoustic passages to driving riffs is not only distinctive but impressive. When the man truly lets his pipes go, as shown in the soaring choruses of “Afterglow” and “Numbers”, he is at his best. When Eppard employs his whispery falsetto, the results showcase the issue with tenor vocalists in rock bands: his lows aren’t as powerful as his high notes. Make no mistake, the vocals are fantastic throughout, as the weaker moments are overshadowed by the many great melodies. Featured early and often throughout the record is Eppard’s fantastic acoustic guitar work, which gives the band a unique identifier in a genre known more for being technically sound than individualized. Also Eppard’s lyrics are a great counterpart to the surprisingly uplifting tone of the album. Throughout, the themes presented focus the difficulty of staying positive despite the harsh realities of life, which is a very fitting message in 2011.
While one member of the band obviously showed up to the party, the rest of the group is up to the task. Drummer The Gartdrumm (yes, that’s his name) is the perfect man for the job. There are tasty fills to be found, but mostly the standard beat is complex enough to please any drummer. Bassist Daniel Grimsland also does a solid job in rounding out the rhythm section, only occasionally asserting his will when the music should be infused with some groove (see his fantastic fretwork on “Only Child”).
The only unattractive part of the album is, ironically, the song “Pretty”. Featuring a dance rock-like chorus, the song feels misplaced compared to the rest of the album, but even the only subpar track on the album is not skip-worthy material, as it is catchy enough to save itself from mediocrity. Where the band truly shines is when they embrace their metal influences. The end of “Numbers” is pure gold for metal heads, and the haunting, heavy riff in “It’s Alive” is one of the album’s highlights. The bread and butter for 3 is in the vocal melodies of Joey Eppard who absolutely shines throughout. Overall, this album is a must for any fan of modern progressive rock.
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replace respectively the < and > with [ and ].
Digging: Vauxdvihl - To Dimension Logic
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Noticed it as soon as I posted it. Fixed now.
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These guys are much better live than on recording, that being said I'll try this out
Digging: Meshuggah - Koloss
| | | Album Rating: 3
Somebody likes their vocals? Ick, it's the biggest obstacle for me enjoying these guys' music more.
Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Quite a disappointing album to be honest. Even my 3.5 seems too high for this same-y LP. Perhaps it'll grow on me.
Digging: Hawk Eyes - Ideas Digging: Hawk Eyes - Ideas | | |
I have their two previous albums, which are (at least) good (listened to them quite a while ago, so i don't remember much tbh).
I like the vocals, the thing is that they file under "love 'em or hate 'em".
Nothing in between.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I don't know man. I neither like them very much nor hate them. It really depends on the song. I reckon though that some variety in vocal approach would be a good thing for these guys. The whole album sounds very homogenous, which is a downside.
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eerily similar, if not almost identical review on another site...is this sort of thing commonplace?
http://lmpmagazine.com/2011/10/10/music-3-the-ghost-you-gave-to-me-review/
Digging: Allegaeon - Formshifter Digging: Allegaeon - Formshifter
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band was insane live
they won me over
I'll give this a spin at some point
Digging: In Mourning - The Weight of Oceans Digging: In Mourning - The Weight of Oceans
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Yeah, I just saw the live too for the first time. Love their previous 2 albums. Not sure about this one yet.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
@keyserfunk:
It appears to be the same person. So yeah. It makes sense that it's similar or the same. He should've acknowledged it before though.
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This was the first album that I've heard from these guys, and I couldn't get past the vocals.
Digging: Art By Numbers - Reticence: The Musical
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willie, you are telling me that you don't like joey eppard's vocals but you really dig the vocals for arch matheos? different strokes i guess.
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That's what I'm saying ;)
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hey greg. yeah, i guess i should stop being a smart ass and write what i mean. anyway, it bugged me so i corresponded with mr senior. apparently others do it too. i had no idea.
| | | Album Rating: 3
Willie I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't care for the vocals at all. I feel like I need to drop the rating a bit, actually, to the band's name
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
In fact, the album's growing on me as expected. So I'm not gonna do the same.
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Willie, so I guess my request for you to write a staff review for this is not going to compel you to provide a warm response then?
| | | Album Rating: 4
i love 3, so im sure ill dig this. probly 4 it. pre-listen prediction.
Digging: Brendon Small - Galaktikon Digging: Brendon Small - Galaktikon | | |
Gonna have to get on this, love me some 3
Digging: Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
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